Colin is tall. He's orange. He's a carrot! He's nothing like Lee, a round green pea. He can't do any of the things Lee and his pea pals can do. How can Colin and Lee ever be friends? A charming celebration of embracing differences and standing out in a crowd.
January 30, 2017
Newcomer Hood tells a story about differences with bright colors and quiet humor. Lee and his friends are peas—round, green, slightly wrinkly cutouts. Colin is a carrot stick, tall and orange. (His shaded sides give him handsome sculptural qualities.) Hood lists Colin’s deficits from a pea’s point of view. “He can’t roll,” she writes as happy peas roll across a thin line on a white spread; Colin lies immobile on his side, looking sad. “And he isn’t very good at hide-and-seek” shows Colin amid dozens and dozens of peas; he stands out instantly, of course. Then Hood turns to Colin’s strengths: “He’s an excellent tower, a fantastic bridge, and a great slide.” “Colin isn’t at all like Lee and the other peas,” Hood concludes. “And that’s just the way they like it.” By using shapes instead of human characters, the story’s focus stays on objective qualities rather than temperaments or personalities. Hood’s message will be clear to even the youngest readers, and the book is especially suitable for discussions about abilities and challenges. Ages 4–7. Agent: Helen Mackenzie Smith, Bell Lomax Moreton.
Starred review from February 15, 2017
Lee, a pea, and Colin, a carrot, are improbable friends in this picture book. Lee is a pea, round and green, as peas are. All Lee's friends are peas--all round, all green--except Colin, who is a carrot stick and is therefore an elongated rectangular shape and orange. Not only does Colin look different, he also can't do the things that peas take for granted. He can't roll, for instance, or bounce. But Colin can do other things--he can be a tower for the peas to jump from, a bridge for the peas to roll over, or, for even more pea-fun, a slide. Hood's spare text strips the theme of accepting and embracing differences to its core, while her inventive and humorous illustrations are thought-provoking in their construction: they are collages made from plastic grocery bags. In picture books, the message of embracing difference is, thankfully, a popular one, but it is Hood's dry humor as well as her illustrations, with their implicit message of turning throwaways into art, that make this story stand out. Wonderfully understated humor, thought-provoking illustrations, and a spot-on theme about the enriching nature of embracing differences combine to create a story that is much more than the sum of its parts. (Picture book. 2-6)
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April 1, 2017
Preschool-G All Lee the pea's friends are peassmall, round, and green, just like himexcept for Colin. Colin's tall, rectangular, and orange: he can't roll or bounce like the peas, and he stands out too much to be good at playing hide-and-seek. However, Colin can be an excellent tower, a fantastic bridge, and a great slide, which Lee demonstrates, and soon the other peas join in. Colin isn't at all like Lee and the other peas. And that's just the way they like it. Though his appearance suggests Colin is a carrot stick, he is only identified as not a pea (title aside, the word carrot is not used). Still, the uncomplicated approach, consisting of spare, straightforward text and simple, bold illustrationsrendered in just two colors, orange and green, and two shapes, circles and rectangles, all with dot-and-line faceswill appeal to younger ages. While accessibly conveying the familiar, welcome theme of accepting and embracing differences, this playful, droll picture book might also provide an opportunity to explore different ways to be a friend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2017
Lee is a pea with many pea friends; his only non-pea friend is Colin, a rectangular carrot stick. Although Colin isn't good at most pea games and stands out from the others, he's still a wonderful friend: he makes a great slide, for instance. Simple collage illustrations on generous white space are full of humor and feeling, and the message is understated but clear.
(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)