Name: The Carrot Seed
ISBN: 9780694004928

Ruth Krauss

The Carrot Seed

Sarah Sammis

My in-laws have a very old copy of The Carrot Seed among their collection of children's books. As I am a fan of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon books, I had to read this book while visiting for New Year's.

The Carrot seed is one of Crockett Johnson's many collaborations. In this case, Ruth Krauss tells the story of an optimistic and patient boy who plants a single carrot seed even though he's repeated told "it won't come up."

According to Crockett's website The Carrot Seed is the first American picture book. It is certainly the oldest example of a classic picture book I've ever read. It follows the now standard method of story telling for the youngest of readers: a bold illustration which takes up most of the page and a few sparse words (a sentence at most) to counterpoint the drawing.