Overview
A TALL tale about the power of teamwork When sweet Little Isabelle's family plants a carrot seed one day, tall Papa Joe, wide Mama Bess, and strong Brother Abel all do their part. But when Little Isabelle wants to help too, Brother Abel just laughs. 'What can you do'? he asks. ?I'll sing and dance to the carrot to make it grow,? she says. ?And come summer, we'll have little cups of sweet carrot puddin?.? Sure enough, that carrot takes a fancy to Little Isabelle's singing and dancing and grows to an amazing height-proving that great things can be accomplished when everyone works together. Based on an old Russian folktale, and complete with a scrumptious recipe for carrot puddin?, this wonderfully humorous story shows the strength of teamwork and the power of a touch of imagination.
Little Isabelle surprises her family with her unique way of helping a carrot seed grow and of getting the huge vegetable from the ground. Includes a recipe for carrot pudding.
Synopsis
A TALL tale about the power of teamwork When sweet Little Isabelle s family plants a carrot seed one day, tall Papa Joe, wide Mama Bess, and strong Brother Abel all do their part. But when Little Isabelle wants to help too, Brother Abel just laughs. What can you do? he asks. I ll sing and dance to the carrot to make it grow, she says. And come summer, we ll have little cups of sweet carrot puddin . Sure enough, that carrot takes a fancy to Little Isabelle s singing and dancing and grows to an amazing height proving that great things can be accomplished when everyone works together. Based on an old Russian folktale, and complete with a scrumptious recipe for carrot puddin , this wonderfully humorous story shows the strength of teamwork and the power of a touch of imagination.
Publishers Weekly
Peck transforms the old Russian folktale about a turnip into a rustic Texas yarn about a carrot that grows enormous enough to meet the needs of an entire family. When tall Papa Joe decides to plant a carrot seed so "come summer, when it's grown, [he can] drink a tall glass of carrot juice," he discovers that his family has other plans for the vegetable. Wide Mama Bess has her heart set on "a wide bowl of carrot stew," and strong Brother Abel craves "a jar of strong carrot relish." They dig the earth, plant the seed and water it carefully, but only "sweet Little Isabelle['s]" singing and dancing can make the carrot grow. Peck's linguistic repetitions and folksy dialect sometimes strain for effect ("Well, [says Brother Abel] for cryin' in a bucket"), but Root's (Someplace Else) depiction of the family's dirt farm and ramshackle log cabin are full of sunshine and energy. His carrot-colored earth, cornflower blue skies and popcorn-like clouds look good enough to eat, but nothing can equal the endearing insouciance of Little Isabelle's dance as the carrot begins "to shiver and shake and quiver and quake" and pops right out of the ground. A recipe for "Little Isabelle's Carrot Puddin' " is included at the end of the book. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)