That's my carrot!
(Book)

Two competitive rabbit neighbors--one tan, the other purple--are both expert gardeners, though their horticultural techniques vary. When an enormous carrot springs up straddling their properties, both rush to claim credit and harvest the behemoth. They manage to dislodge the top, only to discover that most of the root is missing. They join forces on a trip through underground tunnels to solve the mystery: a mole is preparing carrot soup, which he happily shares. Na (Bird, Balloon, Bear, 2017) adds to his oeuvre with this simple tale demonstrating the value of cooperation and sharing. Although formatted as a picture book, the whimsical art makes good use of graphic conventions, including panels, color-coded speech, and unusual perspectives. Na's color palette emphasizes secondary colors (orange, green, purple), and generous white space focuses attention on the story's action. The characters are carefully delineated (the spectacled rabbit practices scientific gardening, while his purple neighbor plays the saxophone); facial expressions and body postures convey their ever-changing emotions. Luckily, détente rules, including a plan for turnips next season.

Two rabbits--a yellow scientist and a purple musician--are superconfident carrot cultivators, certain of their expertise. So when a gargantuan carrot sprouts on the dividing line between their farms, each claims to be the rightful owner ("LOOK WHAT I GREW!" each says), even marshaling dueling construction machines to dig it up. But a subterranean creature beats them to it--one who has not only turned the giant carrot into a big pot of soup, but who also helps the bunnies get in touch with their more generous sides. Na's (The Dreamer) sharing story is well-trod ground, but his artwork, rendered in soft, earthy colors and textures reminiscent of multilayered potato prints, is a page-after-page showcase of compositional ingenuity. One picture uses a dramatic forced perspective that places the two farms at the edge of Earth's curvature; another, devoted to a maze-like map of an underground tunnel system, traces the rabbits' hunt for the carrot thief via the remarks they make en route ("WRONG way" is upside down in a dead end). Even readers who refuse to eat their carrots will find this book a feast for the eyes. Ages 2--5. (May)

PreS-Gr 2--In a tale of a classic neighborly feud, Na introduces two gardening rabbits with differing philosophies on growing carrots. The bespectacled yellow rabbit uses scientific methods while the bow-tied purple rabbit plays music to its plants. When the two discover and dig up a giant carrot straddling their plots of land, they bury their differences and encounter an adorable tunneling creature who has beaten them to the feast. Luckily, this experience teaches them to work together, and they vow to try a new crop--turnips! Na's latest offering is exquisite all around. His illustrations are clever and fun, simple and clean, yet multifaceted and layered. Each green carrot top is delightfully wriggly and unique, and the texture of the carrot skin is spot-on. The animals are adorably anthropomorphized and have clear personality. The perspective and layout shift from page to page. A spread of wordless panels shows the rabbits watching the giant carrot grow. Vertical spreads, mirroring the endpapers, feature a cross-section of the dug-out underground maze as the creatures look for the hungry culprit. Na uses language carefully, showing more than telling; the majority of the text is short thoughts and statements from either side of the fence. VERDICT Another beautiful and highly readable book by Na. A first purchase for all picture book collections.--Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Neighboring rabbit gardeners raise remarkably oversized produce. A fence separates a bespectacled, yellow rabbit's garden from a bow tie--clad, purple rabbit's plot. Both anthropomorphic rabbits claim to LOVE carrots. Apparently, they're experts at growing them, too. The yellow rabbit's methods involve some sort of chemical fertilizer; the purple rabbit's horticultural strategy encourages vegetable growth through saxophone music. Both yield results: the gardens produce an astonishing number of carrots (though some appear to be partially eaten). One day, the biggest carrot of all turns up smack dab on the property line. Each rabbit lays claim to the giant root vegetable. They fight over who will dig it up (and how), kicking up a huge cloud of dust in the process. When the dust settles, only a giant carrot top remains. The dejected rabbits team up, descending into the hole beneath the carrot to--quite literally--get to the bottom of things. But what will they find down there? Na's latest is a humorous tale of garden rivalry told almost entirely through color-coded dialogue (blue for yellow rabbit; purple for purple rabbit). Na smartly employs parallel composition to introduce characters through comics-style panels. Double-page spreads drive the rest of the story, inching the rabbits closer and closer to the carrot in the gutter. Set against grayscale backgrounds, Na's beautiful, textured illustrations--bright yellows, purples, oranges, and greens--simply pop. Definitely not garden variety. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Two competitive rabbit neighbors—one tan, the other purple—are both expert gardeners, though their horticultural techniques vary. When an enormous carrot springs up straddling their properties, both rush to claim credit and harvest the behemoth. They manage to dislodge the top, only to discover that most of the root is missing. They join forces on a trip through underground tunnels to solve the mystery: a mole is preparing carrot soup, which he happily shares. Na (Bird, Balloon, Bear, 2017) adds to his oeuvre with this simple tale demonstrating the value of cooperation and sharing. Although formatted as a picture book, the whimsical art makes good use of graphic conventions, including panels, color-coded speech, and unusual perspectives. Na's color palette emphasizes secondary colors (orange, green, purple), and generous white space focuses attention on the story's action. The characters are carefully delineated (the spectacled rabbit practices scientific gardening, while his purple neighbor plays the saxophone); facial expressions and body postures convey their ever-changing emotions. Luckily, détente rules, including a plan for turnips next season. Preschool-Grade 2. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Two rabbits—a yellow scientist and a purple musician—are superconfident carrot cultivators, certain of their expertise. So when a gargantuan carrot sprouts on the dividing line between their farms, each claims to be the rightful owner ("LOOK WHAT I GREW!" each says), even marshaling dueling construction machines to dig it up. But a subterranean creature beats them to it—one who has not only turned the giant carrot into a big pot of soup, but who also helps the bunnies get in touch with their more generous sides. Na's (The Dreamer) sharing story is well-trod ground, but his artwork, rendered in soft, earthy colors and textures reminiscent of multilayered potato prints, is a page-after-page showcase of compositional ingenuity. One picture uses a dramatic forced perspective that places the two farms at the edge of Earth's curvature; another, devoted to a maze-like map of an underground tunnel system, traces the rabbits' hunt for the carrot thief via the remarks they make en route ("WRONG way" is upside down in a dead end). Even readers who refuse to eat their carrots will find this book a feast for the eyes. Ages 2–5. (May)

PreS-Gr 2—In a tale of a classic neighborly feud, Na introduces two gardening rabbits with differing philosophies on growing carrots. The bespectacled yellow rabbit uses scientific methods while the bow-tied purple rabbit plays music to its plants. When the two discover and dig up a giant carrot straddling their plots of land, they bury their differences and encounter an adorable tunneling creature who has beaten them to the feast. Luckily, this experience teaches them to work together, and they vow to try a new crop—turnips! Na's latest offering is exquisite all around. His illustrations are clever and fun, simple and clean, yet multifaceted and layered. Each green carrot top is delightfully wriggly and unique, and the texture of the carrot skin is spot-on. The animals are adorably anthropomorphized and have clear personality. The perspective and layout shift from page to page. A spread of wordless panels shows the rabbits watching the giant carrot grow. Vertical spreads, mirroring the endpapers, feature a cross-section of the dug-out underground maze as the creatures look for the hungry culprit. Na uses language carefully, showing more than telling; the majority of the text is short thoughts and statements from either side of the fence. VERDICT Another beautiful and highly readable book by Na. A first purchase for all picture book collections.—Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA