Friendship in the Produce Aisle

Carrot and Pea: An Unlikely Friendship by Morag Hood

One look at the cover and immediately I knew that it was time to take this book on location. Volume in hand, I was off to the market in search of Carrot's relations. It wasn't too difficult. A bunch of Carrot's Cousins were hanging out with broccoli in the produce section.
Notice the vibrant color of the cover. It complements the rich orange and green found in nature.
Morag Hood's Carrot and Pea: An Unlikely Friendship is a visual feast.

​Readers will instantly spot Colin the carrot. He is surrounded by pages filled with smiley-faced peas. It is evident that this vegetable doesn't quite fit in.
When compared with the bouncy green legumes, his tall rigid shape and bright orange color are conspicuous. He can't roll along with the group or join them in a game of hide-and-seek.
Fortunately, Colin and the peas discover that his differences are valuable assets. For example, he can be a fantastic bridge as well as a great slide for his friends. Friends who appreciate each other's differences can increase their potential for fun together.
Note the vegetables' facial expressions. They add a charming detail to the story.

Collage Creation

​Use this book to celebrate individual differences and as a craft activity: creating collages using recycled materials.

Hood has taken a fresh approach to picture book illustration. The images in her book were collaged from plastic grocery bags. While at the market, I picked up a few plastic grocery bags.  Note the variety of colors and patterns that can be found in food wrapping. These bags provided the material that I needed for creating my own plastic bag collage.

Here is my finished creation. This fun and easy project needs only a sharp pair of scissors, a glue stick, and of course, repurposed plastic bags.

Relationship Memes

The story can also be used to explore idioms describing close relationships. Getting along "like peas and carrots" has been popularized by the movie Forrest Gump. It's a fun concept to play around with. Young readers can try creating their own relationship memes. Here are a few ideas to get the discussion going. Images: Personalization Mall.