View source for Colin and Lee, Carrot and Pea by Morag Hood

{{infobox2
|title=Colin and Lee, Carrot and Pea
|author=Morag Hood
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Simple and silly, a nice little tale of friendship overcoming differences.
|rating=3.5
|buy=yes
|borrow=yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Two Hoots
|date=June 2016
|isbn=9781509808946
|website=http://www.moraghood.co.uk/
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Sometimes people don’t quite fit in.  Perhaps they are much taller than you, or perhaps they aren’t round enough to roll.  Does this mean, then, that if someone is so different you can’t be their friend?  When it comes to Colin and Lee, they are about as different as you can get, since one is small and round and green and a pea and the other is, well, a carrot!  But does that get in the way of their friendship?

This is a deceptively simple book, with small green peas and a long, tall carrot stick providing the only colour throughout.  Yet however simple, there is still a story with a nice message behind it.  I like that in such an easy to understand way we are shown how differences needn’t come in the way of friendship, and whilst Colin is unable to join in some pea activities, he is also able to instigate other fun things to do, that wouldn’t be possible without him, such as tower climbing, crossing the bridge and going down the slide!  You can easily sit for a few minutes at the end of the book and chat about how one friend is different to another, and someone is good at climbing whilst another is great at jumping, and so it’s a story that helps to celebrate diversity and differences.

The peas and the carrot somehow manage to be quite expressive, even with the simplistic style of the artwork.  The bright colours are attractive, and with everything so clearly painted with just oranges and greens against a white background it is easy to follow what’s happening.  I personally would have liked a little more variation, perhaps in the layout, to liven things up as I found it a little bit too similar throughout, but my little boy enjoyed the silly vegetables, and there is a sweet image at the end of all the peas surrounding Colin in a group hug!

The story is quick to read, and easy to follow.  The sentences are short but clear, and the storyline is well crafted.  It’s the sort of book you’d be happy to read twice in a row as it really doesn’t take long and it’s very quick to get through.  There are no opportunities for funny pea and carrot voices, sadly a missed opportunity in my opinion!  But I know many others enjoy reading a story in their normal voice, so they’ll have a happy time!  I had a small quibble with the carrot since he’s actually a carrot stick, rather than a carrot, and if he’d been his normal carrot shape he actually could have rolled around, at least a little, along with his pea friends!  I suppose a large number of children now expect carrots to come in this shape (we still do circles in our house…) and this is a minor issue really, but I thought I’d mention it for any vegetable purists out there.

A lovely message, and good for a quick and easy read.

Further reading suggestion: For more vegetable delights you might like to try [[Peas! by Andy Cullen and Simon Rickerty]] or [[The Giant Carrot by Allan Manham and Penny Dann]].

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