Last spring, we spent the entire month of March showcasing our “books for (very) young readers” — an assortment of delightful titles written and illustrated primarily for children under five.
This small but growing portion of our list is, admittedly, at the far end of the publishing spectrum from the Bible commentaries and academic religious texts for which Eerdmans is perhaps better known. Still, we know that every future commentary reader has to begin somewhere!
Lately, EBYR’s collection of books for preschoolers seems to have been growing at an even faster rate than usual. With two new titles out in July and another coming in early September, these charming little books — with their simple, interactive texts and whimsical illustrations — are quickly becoming a force to reckon with in the EBYR catalog.
To introduce them properly, we’re featuring all three of this season’s new books for (very) young readers on EerdWord this week.
Today’s featured book, Satoe Tone’s The Very Big Carrot, stars six plump rabbit brothers who come across the windfall of a lifetime.
The intrepid brothers wonder together (and enlist young readers to help them imagine): “What could they do with the very big carrot?”
They dream of turning it into a boat . . . a plane . . .
. . . “the most beautiful garden ever” . . .
. . . and “the biggest house in the whole world.”
Of course, imagining such wild possibilities is hard, hungry work for the little rabbits.
Inspired by their rumbling tummies, they at last decide on the most logical — and deliciously satisfying — course of action.
“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. . . . 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.”
— Publishers Weekly
Click to order Satoe Tone’s The Very Big Carrot.
I can imagine young readers shouting out, ‘Eat it!” every time the rabbits suggest doing something else with the carrot.