THAT'S MY CARROT

Neighboring rabbit gardeners raise remarkably oversized produce.

A fence separates a bespectacled, yellow rabbit’s garden from a bow tie–clad, purple rabbit’s plot. Both anthropomorphic rabbits claim to LOVE carrots. Apparently, they’re experts at growing them, too. The yellow rabbit’s methods involve some sort of chemical fertilizer; the purple rabbit’s horticultural strategy encourages vegetable growth through saxophone music. Both yield results: the gardens produce an astonishing number of carrots (though some appear to be partially eaten). One day, the biggest carrot of all turns up smack dab on the property line. Each rabbit lays claim to the giant root vegetable. They fight over who will dig it up (and how), kicking up a huge cloud of dust in the process. When the dust settles, only a giant carrot top remains. The dejected rabbits team up, descending into the hole beneath the carrot to—quite literally—get to the bottom of things. But what will they find down there? Na’s latest is a humorous tale of garden rivalry told almost entirely through color-coded dialogue (blue for yellow rabbit; purple for purple rabbit). Na smartly employs parallel composition to introduce characters through comics-style panels. Double-page spreads drive the rest of the story, inching the rabbits closer and closer to the carrot in the gutter. Set against grayscale backgrounds, Na’s beautiful, textured illustrations—bright yellows, purples, oranges, and greens—simply pop.

Definitely not garden variety.