LIFE AND TIMES OF THE PEANUT

In a book that follows in the clearly defined footsteps of its predecessors, The Life and Times of the Apple (1992) and The Life and Times of the Honeybee (1995), Micucci takes a bemused, informative look at the subject of goobers, pinders, earth nuts, ground peas—peanuts. Surpassing trivia, a comprehensive gold mine of facts is well-organized and eye-catching, covering the origins, history, growth, uses, varieties, and even travels of the peanut. Ample emphasis is given to a kid-favorite in a chapter titled ``Three Thousand Years of Peanut Butter,'' which displays a timeline covering the South American Indians of 900 b.c., a discussion of peanut butter during WW II, and its use on Apollo space flights. The roles of the Incas and George Washington Carver in the history of the peanut are not overlooked. With an uncanny sense, Micucci knows what makes information accessible to kids, e.g., peanut-growing states and countries are measured in stacks of peanuts and a peanut butter company's 10,000-pound-per-hour production rate is pointedly compared to the weight of a full-grown elephant. The straightforward, stimulating style rises above the superficial, jam-packed, jazzy presentations of many information books for children, making this a captivating compendium, as wholesome and substantial as a peanut butter sandwich. (further reading) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-11)