This book was first published in 1945, and it remains a classic. It’s such a deceptively simple tale. A little boy plants a carrot seed, and although everyone discourages him and tells him that it won’t come up, the boy remains faithful. He waters the seed and waits and waits and waits for it to grow. Finally, it does grow just as the boy knew it would. The boy’s faith is rewarded; the skepticism of his family is exposed as mere pretension to wisdom, worldly wisdom. The boy who knows that the seed will grow is the one who has the true wisdom.

The book’s illustrations, by Crockett Johnson, are simple, too. The boy is a little balloon-like cartoonish character, and the carrot at the end is BIG, just as it should be after taking so long to grow. Many children will want to hear this story over and over again, beginning before the age of two and continuing on as they grow older. You’ve heard of comfort food? The Carrot Seed is a comfort story.

And Jesus said unto them, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Mat 17:20)

Read the book. Plant a seed. See if it grows.

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase a downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.