Creepy Carrots

Greed, vegetable stalking, delusions…creepy carrots are ridiculously scary but also a kid friendly story. Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds is one of my favorite picture books ever. Not too long of a book with 40 illustrated pages, it is one of the best noir and moody illustration books for reading out louds that whose subjects of a bunny and carrots are innocent enough that it won’t be too scary for kids.

For the person that wishes Halloween was more than once a year, I too love that it has a kid-friendly spooky vibe that has a happy ending. This is the perfect story to read out loud that brings the story to life, makes you root (pun intended) for the main character Jasper Rabbit, and then gives you a twist at the end that will have the kids laughing and saying READ IT AGAIN.

Personally, I love a good book that makes you want to read it out loud. To bring alive a story with your words gives countless memories for both the adult and child. In this case, reading it again is also for the Twilight Zone fan at heart. It is ironic that carrots look scary in a children’s book while many children do not exactly love vegetables. But the main character, Jasper Rabbit, you guessed it...LOVED carrots.

Jasper Rabbit loves carrots — especially Crackenhopper Field carrots.

He eats them on the way to school. He eats them while walking home from school.

He even eats them going to Little League, and definitely after every game.

But one day the carrots start following him!

The ridiculousness of creeping carrots being scary being paired with the effective “tunktunktunk.” One begins to think that his imagination is getting the best of him. Or is it?

But the story asks again, is Jasper really imagining things, or are these orange vegetables out for revenge? I know it for a fact we all have that something that we could literally eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner but the snack didn’t love him, or more importantly appreciate being munched up. Jasper had carrots, or so he thought.

It brings the reader along with Jasper as he must figure out what to do. He loves carrots, but how can he take care of the creepy kind? All at once, the carrots are funny yet scary all at the same time. These orange vegetables start following him home and soon enough Jasper is seeing these creepy carrots EVERYWHERE.

He laughed at himself, picked his toothbrush off the floor, and went to bed ... quickly.

What makes this such a great story is the black and white done right. While the book isn’t wholly black and white much like the classic movies, there is one simple color that just makes the story pop….carrot orange.

Will Jasper be able to survive this carrot invasion? No one seems to believe him. Now here comes the Hitchcock spoof of an ending. Jasper thinks HE will solve the carrot problem by fixing these menacing carrots.

He builds a fortress and moat to contain these now offensive snacks. I love the fact that the vegetables turned the tables on Jasper and now they are finally safe and isolated from the outside world and the threat of being munched up.

Why not fall in love with picture books with a good ending and share that with kids? This book reminds us that scary books don’t have to be seasonal, for the lover of Halloween and such. Kids love to be scared within the safety of their parents’ arms and at the same time, happy endings and nice art work are a bonus.

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