Children's

Peanut Goes For The Gold by Jonathan Van Ness

Lori Carroll
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Grade: 5

Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye brings us the story of Peanut, a gender non-binary hamster with dreams of becoming a rhythmic gymnast. 

Children’s books are very often cute, have a moral at the end and usually introduce us to characters we fall in love with. Peanut Goes For The Gold does all of that and more! 

I loved that there wasn’t really a dark or sad moment for Peanut. It’s made clear that they may enjoy life differently than everyone else, but no one shunned or excluded them for that. When Peanut wanted to try rhythmic gymnastics, the entire family jumped on board and helped them reach their goal. I’m also a huge fan (spoiler ahead) that at the end, we never actually find out if Peanut won gold, just that they did their best and got a perfect score. Making the lesson not about winning, which is a huge plus for me. 

The illustrations are done by Gillian Reid, who did a beautiful job. 

Bottom Line: Adult or child, you will love this book.

Lori Carroll

Lori Carroll

Owner at Jan's
Starting late in life reading, Lori made up for it by becoming a voracious reader. Recently she bought an established bookstore in Beaverton, OR and now spends her day surrounded by nothing but books and booklovers!
Lori Carroll

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