"Peanut Goes for the Gold" by Jonathan Van Ness and Gillian Reid (Harper360)

Confession: I had no idea who Jonathan Van Ness was, but when we first got his new picture book "Peanut Goes for the Gold" (with illustrations by Gillian Reid) I wondered whether this might usher in a new era of children's authors having their faces on the covers, and on a gigantic back cover spread.

Raising the profile of authors is no bad thing but I should've known - this is a celebrity-penned book by a guy who is famous for being a hairdresser (which might explain his luxurious locks and rather well groomed beard) and something on TV called "Queer Eye" (which we had actually heard of but never watched).

So push all that to one side, is the book any good?

Peanut  is a gender nonbinary guinea pig with a strong personality, an eye for style and a ton of charisma. Peanut likes to do things in a unique way, whether it's turning cartwheels on the basketball court or coming up with fantastic new hairstyles to wow the crowds.

But this fuzzy creature has a new aspiration, to be a daredevil rhythmic gymnast, working hard to come up with a real showstopper routine.

Exuding a hugely positive message, peanut is a fun and entertaining character to show kids that it's OK to be exactly who they want to be, and to believe in their own abilities and worth. We do love a whopping great big dose of positivity, needed more this year than ever before, so hooray for Jonathan, Gilliant and of course Peanut!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Inspirational stuff, urging kids to believe in themselves, and to cut their own dash in the world no matter what anyone else might say.

"Peanut Goes for the Gold" by Jonathan Van Ness and Gillian Reid is out now, published by Harper360 (kindly supplied for review).