Carrot & Pea: An Unlikely Friendship (2016) is Morag Hood’s first picture book. I’ve enjoyed–and discussed– a more recent book by Hood, Seahorse is Furious and There is Nothing You Can Do About It, and there’s a definite connection between the two books. Both focus on friendship. Both use large, simple images with fantastic design. Both seem simple, but are quietly powerful.
Carrot & Pea focuses on the friendship between Colin , a carrot, and Lee, a pea. Lea is one of many peas, all like him. Colin can’t do the things Lea and the other peas do, due to his different shape and size.
However, he can do other things, and Lea (and the other peas) appreciate his differences and what they bring to the table. For example, Lea can’t roll like a pea–but he makes “a great slide” The peas appreciate this, and the book shows Colin and Lee smiling (surrounded by a pile of other peas).
The back cover flap shares an interesting detail: the art here was made from plastic grocery bags, which is a) impressive, b) a good quiet lesson on recycling, and c) a way to underscore that things aren’t what they seem/what you might think.
