Creepy Carrots!
Illustrated by Peter Brown, Written by Aaron Reynolds

Publisher’s Summary:
Jasper Rabbit loves carrots — especially Crackenhopper Field carrots.
He eats them on the way to school.
He eats them going to Little League.
He eats them walking home.
Until the day the carrots start following him…or are they?

Primary Source Pairing:
Peter Brown shares his artistic inspiration in finding the look for the book Creepy Carrots in the video called “The Creepy Carrots Zone,” embedded above. In finding the look for the book and a theme for his illustrations, he turned to old TV Shows like The Twilight Zone and movies like Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and The Man from Planet X. By studying the light and perspective of these films, Peter Brown found the look for Creepy Carrots, and it is most definitely a masterpiece.

For this primary source pairing, invite students to watch the video made by Peter Brown about his inspiration for the book and take note of the examples he includes. As an extension activity, do more research on the TV shows, movies, and corresponding movie posters.

Questions for Discussion:

• Describe what you see and hear.
• What do you notice first?
• Do you only see live action, or are there any special effects or animation?
• Describe any words you see on the screen.
• What do you notice that you didn’t expect?
• What do you notice that you can’t explain?
• What connections can you make between Peter Brown’s examples for inspiration for the illustrations to what you see in the book?
• How does understanding Peter Brown’s inspiration for the illustrations impact your experience reading the book Creepy Carrots?
• Consider the color scheme of the book.
• How does the black, white, and orange theme contribute to the theme of the story?
• How would different colors or more colors impact the story?

Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
“The Creepy Carrots Zone” Video: YouTube