The Very Big Carrot

When six rabbits happen upon an enormous carrot, not even the sky is the limit, as Tone demonstrates in this visually inventive story first published in France. “What could they do with the very big carrot?” she asks, using repetition to take readers through each possibility. “Maybe they could make it into a boat... and say hello to all the fishes!” The rabbits’ carrot boat defies logic—and the laws of nature—as the giant orange root becomes not the vessel, but the sail; the rabbits clutch fishing poles while sitting atop the carrot’s fronts, which take the shape of a boat. Tiny though they are, Tone’s rabbits and their humorously synchronized movements command attention on each spread; with their Buddha-like white bodies, they resemble peeled pears. In one scene, as they contemplate turning the carrot into an airplane, they march upside down, walking on their ears as though they were legs. The ending isn’t too surprising—for a rabbit, there’s really only one thing to be done with a carrot, no matter how large—but getting there is a delight. Ages 2–6. (July)