Merry Christmas, Peanut!

Border, the creator of Peanut Butter & Cupcake and Milk Goes to School, returns with the amusing story of a dramatic holiday journey, featuring his signature dioramas of food-based characters. Peanut and his family are on their way to his grandmother’s house, but they’re thwarted by troublesome roads (“At first, Peanut thought it was a traffic jam, but then he saw it was a traffic jelly”), a busted bridge, and bad weather. Along the way, Peanut invites a baker, sailor, and lumberjack to join them, spreading holiday cheer: “Don’t be sad! I’ll cheer you up! I’m the Merry Christmas Nut!” The rhyme is catchy (as is Peanut’s overall enthusiasm), and as with Border’s previous books, the real delights come from his carefully and humorously staged scenes—at one point, the peanuts make their way through a forest of pine tree cookies dusted with green sugar, resulting in some literal chewing of the scenery. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)