Hello, friends! Our book today is the board book If I Gave the World My Blanket by Justin Thompson, using characters and art from the classic Peanuts comics by Charles M. Schultz.

The loose story opens on the lovable, security-blanket-toting Linus imagining how sharing his beloved lovey with “the world”. He notes how the use of his blanket could keep Snoopy and Woodstock warm in the snow, or comfort a crying Charlie Brown. It could give security or shelter to friends in stormy weather, or provide a relaxing hammock in sunshine. It could be a ghost costume, a superhero’s cape, and even a sling for hurt arms. Ultimately, he decides that by sharing his blanket with others, the comfort provided would keep him warm too.

Sweet but forced. This tie-in starts with a solid sentiment about offering care and comfort to others, and even has a few genuinely touching pages, but quickly becomes repetitive and reaching by the end. The switching perspectives between collective and singular pronouns in the text makes for a confusing read, especially aloud, and while the classic Peanuts characters are fun to see, many of the illustrations feel disconnected from the text that accompanies them. Lastly, the sole POC character, Franklin, appears only on the last two pages and, frankly, feels uncomfortably “tacked on”. Otherwise, the length is fine for a quick storytime, and JJ enjoyed the illustrations of Snoopy. This is a cute concept for a book, and Peanuts fans may get a kick out of it, but overall, kind of a letdown in execution. Not for us.

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)