Picture Book:
The Carrot Seed
Author: Ruth
Krauss
Illustrator: Crockett
Johnson
Summary: This classic has a
simple story but a powerful message about a lone boy’s faith in a carrot seed which he has planted and
continues to nurture despite his family members saying repeatedly, “It won’t
come up.” Eventually the greens pop above the soil’s surface. Then the boy pulls
a huge carrot out of the ground and loads it onto a wheel barrow. I wonder if
he shared the carrot with his family.
Hanna’s Comments: This book was published 70 years ago, but its simple
message of faith and nurturing that which only you believe in is universal and
timeless. I think it should be in every toddler and preschooler’s library. Certainly
it should be in your faith community’s nursery, preschool rooms, and
community-wide library. Don't limit it's audience to just little ones. With elementary children and adults talk about naysayers and critics. Discuss
the concept of nurturing your faith as the boy nurtured his carrot seed. Be
sure to point out that the carrot seed might have died had the boy not
been so faithful to it. Ask them, “What are some of the ways we “water” and “weed”
our faith gardens?” Think this is too abstract? Offer some personal explanation
of how you do this and what your faith garden looks like. I bet you’ll be
surprised at how they will catch on.
Publisher & Date of Publication: Harper & Row, 1945
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up
# of Pages:
32
Available in Spanish? Yes
Formats other than Book: There are several videos to choose from including
“Uncle Wally” Amos reading this book as a part of the Read it Loud library program on Youtube.com, Audio cassette
PBT Category:
Classic
PBT Topics this Book Connects with: beginnings/morning, care of creation,
doubt, eggs/seeds, faith/faithfulness, family,
gardening/planting/pruning/sowing, harvest, land/mountains/soil, patience, perseverance, resisting
evil, transformation, water
Scripture Connections: Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:8); If you have
faith the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20)
Idea(s) for Application: Because the concept of faith is so abstract, children (and
sometimes adults) have difficulty understanding it. This little book offers a delightfully
simple, but profound explanation of faith that is easy to relate to. Read this book in a Sunday school or other small group context and explore the concept of faith and how to "tend" and "nurture" it.
