How Carrot and Cookie Saved Christmas

by Erica S. Perl, Jonathan Fenske (Illustrator)

Overview

A festive pun-filled story perfect for the holidays!

In this follow-up to When Carrot Met Cookie, Christmas is fast approaching, and Carrot and Cookie are both worried—they can't find the right present for each other! But when they hear a crash on Christmas Eve and find a sick Santa too ill to keep flying his sleigh, they know there are more important matters at hand. Can these friends conjure up enough Christmas magic to step into Santa's shoes, deliver the presents themselves, and save the day?

Hilarious and heartwarming, this is the perfect gift for future foodies or anyone looking for some special holiday cheer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593662366
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/08/2024
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.38(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Erica S. Perl is the author of more than forty popular and critically acclaimed books for children. She has also collaborated on books with Dolly Parton and R.J. Palacio. Erica teaches writing in the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program and lives in Washington, DC, with her family. She is fond of cookies and carrots, but especially cookies (don’t tell Carrot!). Her website is ericaperl.com.

Jonathan Fenske is the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning author-illustrator of A Pig, a Fox, and a Box; I Will Race You Through This Book!; After Squidnight; Something Stinks!; and more. He lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

"This follow-up to When Carrot Met Cookie (2021) is as wholesome as it is funny [...] A sweet treat for the holiday shelves." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

09/27/2024

Gr 1–3—It's Christmas Eve, and best friends Carrot and Cookie don't have gifts for each other yet. Each one consults a friend: Carrot asks Pickle, who says, "It's no big dill," while Cookie asks Cupcake, whose ideas are a bit "half-baked." Carrot and Cookie gather for their annual sleepover and are about to tell each other the sad truth, when Santa lands his sleigh outside with a jolly "Ho-ho-ho…achoo!" They rush out to find Santa sneezing and, to their wide-eyed amazement, about to cancel Christmas. Carrot muses, "If reindeer can fly, why can't vegetables?" It turns out they can, and Carrot urges them on to pull Santa's sleigh: "On Eggplant! On Scallion! On Corn and Zucchini! On Lettuce! On Okra! And on Broccolini!" Christmas is saved. This pun-filled romp with delightfully goofy characters and charming illustrations will crack kids up with its silly humor. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice visual puns scattered throughout the book, such as googly-eyed candy canes serving as sleigh runners. The one unexplained oddity—why Santa and his reindeer appear to be made of gingerbread—is a minor flaw in an otherwise worthwhile story. VERDICT A warmhearted holiday story of an unexpected friendship, filled with silly puns and lots of laughs.—Haley Amendt

School Library Journal

2024-07-04
Carrot and Cookie unexpectedly fill Santa’s shoes in a grand adventure.

It’s Christmas Eve, and Carrot still doesn’t have a present for bestie Cookie. Pickle points out that getting a gift should be “no big dill,” but Carrot needs something “EXTRA special.” Cookie’s “also in a jam.” What should Cookie get Carrot? Cupcake’s idea—adding sprinkles to every problem—is “a little half-baked.” Ultimately, neither Carrot nor Cookie gets anything for the other. Anxiety gets the best of them both. The pair eventually decide to “spill the beans” at their annual Christmas Eve sleepover. But their confessions are interrupted by a “Ho-ho-ho…achoo!” as a gingerbread Santa bursts onto the scene. Bad news: Santa is sick and going to have to cancel Christmas. Good news: Cookie and Carrot volunteer to save the day. They recruit various vegetables to replace the broken reindeer (including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Radish”) and put Santa to bed. Can they get everything delivered in time? This follow-up toWhen Carrot Met Cookie (2021) is as wholesome as it is funny. The dialogue-driven story (with speech bubbles) asks readers to suspend disbelief and trust in “veggie power”—they’ll willingly do so. Perl and Fenske’s commitment to the punny, perishable world makes for some delectable details—even the moon is made of cheese!

A sweet treat for the holiday shelves.(Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews