The cover of The Carrot Seed has a little tag that reads “Celebrating 75 Years!” However, since the book is a few years old, Ruth Krauss’s book is now a full 80 years old. And it is evident why it has lasted so long.
Some of it, of course, is the pictures executed by Crockett Johnson, of Harold and the Purple Crayon fame. They are simple and elegant, and are perfectly positioned on the page.
More of the reason this book has lasted, though, is that the story itself is also simple and elegant. A boy plants a carrot seed. A series of adults tell him that the seed won’t grow. He tends it nonetheless, without trauma or pushback, and the carrot grows. And it is huge and glorious. The lack of drama is beautiful: this little kid lives commitment, as children must do to grow their dreams in the face of parental disapproval.
The carrot could symbolize talent, love, faith, or any personal dream. Or maybe it is just a carrot.
Brief. Simple. Pure. Great.
