Oh, Carrots!
Mariajo Ilustrajo
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Mr Rabbit lives all alone and has grown used to so doing, occupying himself caring for his plants, keeping his place clean and reading, though at times it’s so quiet he does feel a tad lonely.

Now with the coming of spring Mr Rabbit can plant his favourite thing, carrots. It certainly keeps him busy and after 240 seeds are safely in the soil he’s more than ready for a hot drink and some relaxation. But suddenly he spots another seed in the packet. “Where were you hiding?” he asks seed 241, carefully planting it and resolving to give it a little bit of extra TLC so it doesn’t feel overlooked again. With daily watering, singing to the seeds, sunshine and loving kindness the carrots start to grow, one especially well.

One day he notices a carrot top give a wriggle. He pulls, pulls and pulls and out pops a walking, talking carrot. “Hello Mr Rabbit” it says. ”Oh, Carrots!” comes the reply and Mr Rabbit dashes off home, forgetting to close the back door.

It soon becomes evident that Carrot just wants to be Mr Rabbit’s friend but Mr Rabbit wants his visitor to leave him alone not jump on the sofa, interfere with his record collection or rummage through his books. Carrot’s lively antics irritate Mr Rabbit who is not at all used to mischief. However during the course of the day our lupine friend gradually finds that he’s enjoying himself.

So used to being a loner, he’s never considered having somebody else around. Could it he that needs a friend after all?

Mariajo’s combination of words and pictures is a winner with its striking illustrations and text both imbued with gentle humour and wisdom. A book that celebrates the joys of making new friends and a demonstration of how a close friend can help a person learn more about themselves.