Peanut the Squirrel came close to getting Nil Pointe after Peanut the Squirrel failed to download!

The small delay was caused by the file size, due to the full colour illustrations on each page. In many ways this looks like an ebook version of the old board books, without the chewed corners.

Peanut the Squirrel is aimed at a very young audience – I’d probably say under fours, and read with help. Due to interactive sequences like saying hello to Peanut’s friends, this ebook looks more like an activity to be done with a very young reader by a parent or other adult. It’s probably as well since I would not leave a child of the age this is aimed at alone with my Kindle.

The images are very simple, line drawn and coloured computer art. They will suffice for young children, but the tech-savvy will cringe. Also if your Kindle does not support colour, a lot of the impact will be lost.

Now, pardon my British, but Pigeon Street this ain’t. I don’t care if it is a children’s book, the difference between its and it’s is important! Aside from the glaring grammar issue, there were no obvious typos, and despite the complex formatting for illustrations the layout is clear. Peanut doesn’t have a Table of Contents but at 20-odd pages it doesn’t need one. The missing front matter (e.g. copyright) and backmatter consisting of a single ad for the next book give this a very stripped down feel but also mean you definitely get what you pay for.

I give this a three stars, despite my scepticism over handing expensive electronic devices to children the age of this ebook’s intended audience.

(And I made it through the entire review without a single joke about acorns or nuts!)