View source for The Giant Carrot by Allan Manham and Penny Dann

{{infobox2
|title=The Giant Carrot
|sort=Giant Carrot
|author=Allan Manham and Penny Dann
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A sweet and simple tale of... you've guessed it: a giant carrot. The youngest book fans will want to be out in Jack's garden with him. There's charm by the bucketload. Recommended.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1843625919
|pages=32
|publisher=Orchard
|date=February 2010
|aznuk=1843625911
|aznus=1843625911
|cover=1843625911
|website=http://www.pennydann.co.uk/
}}

Jack is quite the gardener. All his hard work means his vegetable patch is awash with luscious veggies. One day, he decides to pull up some carrots and make soup, but the biggest carrot just wouldn't budge. He's going to have to get some chums to help him.

''The Giant Carrot'' is one of those charming little picture books where not a lot happens, but everything about it feels right. The plot really does boil down to ''lots of people work together to pull up a massive carrot and have soup'', but you'll be delighted to go along for the ride. Everything just feels sweet and lovely, without being saccharine. If you're looking for a nice relaxing book to read to the littlest book fans, you won't go far wrong here.

Penny Dann's illustrations suit the feel of the book perfectly. You'll want to be out in the warm dirt with Jack as he waters his caulis, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you ate one of his tomatoes straight from the vine. He and his friends all look like nice people to hang out with. Every page has plenty of action, for parents and children to talk about what's going on beyond the simple plot.

As children get older, ''The Giant Carrot'' won't hold their attention quite as much as it once did, but such is its quality and charm, they'll still grab it from the bookshelf a little longer than you might expect. It'll always put a smile on your face, and fill your heart with a warm glow. It's just lovely. Recommended.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

There's something particularly captivating about books with gardening as their main theme. Amongst our favourites are [[Oh No, Monster Tomato! by Jim Helmore and Karen Wall]], [[The General by Janet Charters and Michael Foreman]], [[The Growing Story by Ruth Krauss and Helen Oxenbury]], [[Winnie's Amazing Pumpkin by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul]] and [[Christopher Nibble by Charlotte Middleton]].

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[[Category:Allan Manham]]
[[Category:Penny Dann]]