For parents who can’t get past the saccharine sentiments expressed in some picture books about love, You Are the Pea, and I Am the Carrot offers a refreshing, lighthearted antidote. As a young boy (with a head as round as a pea) and a girl (as slender as a carrot, with orange hair to boot) picnic in the grass, they croon a tune that features classic food pairings. Readers can almost hear the rhyming ode set to music as butter and bread waltz across the page, a biscuit and jam sip coffee at a Parisian café, a marshmallow and graham cracker huddle by a campfire, and a funnel cake skis downs a powdered sugar mountain.
The refrains return to the boy and girl, who sum up the adorable, digitally enhanced food pairings and their own friendship: “We belong together. / We’re such a tasty sweet. / We’re yummy, scrumptious morsels. / We’re the perfect little treat.”
This celebration of love makes a soothing bedtime story or a touching gift for children and adults alike. Educators and creative youngsters will see more possibilities as they ponder other famous pairings, edible or not. Simply delicious!
