Book Review: The Mystery of the Missing Peanuts

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Logical and fun story

Cons: One plot point, but the outcome is quite fun

The Bottom Line:

Who is stealing nuts?

Donald looks at animals

Finally gets his man

Can Detective Donald Find the Peanut Thief?

Who would be so low down that they would steal peanuts from a zoo?  That’s the question Donald is facing in The Mystery of the Missing Peanuts.  I remember enjoying it as a kid, and I found it just as fun as ever when I reread it.

Someone is breaking into the feed shed at the zoo every night and stealing peanuts.  Mickey, the zookeeper, is fed up, so he hires Donald to find the thief.  He quickly finds out how the thief is getting into the shed, but will the case be cracked that quickly?  And will Chip ‘n’ Dale help or hinder the investigation?

I’ve always loved Disney, so naturally that was a draw as a kid.  Only the four characters I named appear in the book, the rest of the cast are zoo animals and they are reduced to non-speaking cameos.  Still, these four are enough to tell a fun story.

Even as an adult, the mystery holds together well.  The clues are all there and the path Donald follows in mostly logical.  There is one jump that never worked for me even as a kid, but it leads to one of my favorite scenes, so I can’t complain too loudly.

And when the logical denouncement comes, it doesn’t end with the bad guy being punished at all.  I actually like that Mickey forgives the culprit and works out a mutually beneficial solution for everyone involved.  Not only that, but the book teaches the importance of working hard for what you want, a moral that everyone can benefit from.  Of course, that moral is subtle and never preached, so you can just enjoy the story as a story, too.

Each page features a few lines of text and a picture.  These picture are in nice color and really help tell the story.  They are a pleasure as well.

My niece has found this book at Grandma and Grandpa’s, and she is loving it as much as I remember enjoying it when I was four.  So if you get a chance to track down The Mystery of the Missing Peanuts, do.  You and your kid will enjoy it.