Carrots Make Me Suspicious
Robin Mitchell Cranfield
Greystone Kids

Far from being an omnivore, the young rabbit narrator is rather a picky eater. He certainly will not eat carrots despite his parents enthusiastic comments about them, insisting that carrots make him suspicious and he’d far rather eat quiet food like yogurt or bananas. When his mother suggests her little one should do a carrot investigation, he writes that they are ‘crunchy, munchy, loud’ and above all ‘suspicious’.

From further conversations with his father and mother it emerges that despite their colour, carrots don’t taste like oranges, nor are they all triangular. The young rabbit decides to find out how carrots are made so he visits neighbour Valentino, grower of all manner of vegetables; but this doesn’t change his willingness to try a carrot. He does though visit the library to search for more information, discovering several ways to prepare the root veggies, different things they can be mixed with and then he comes upon a recipe that might be worth trying.

The family shops, prepares and makes cinnamon carrot soup; then they all sit down to taste it. Having given it a good sniff, the little rabbit takes a tiny sip: what will he think of his meal? And will he accept the dessert he’s offered?

It’s good to see that the parent rabbits aren’t judgemental but encouraging, allowing their offspring to try a carrot on his own terms.

With charming mixed media illustrations and a challenge that many parents have to cope with, this is a story-cum cook book with a difference.