Creepy Carrots!

Narrator James Naughton uses his considerable skills to heighten the suspenseful mood of this story. Carrot-loving Jasper Rabbit nourishes his craving several times each day from the luscious supply in Crackenhopper Field. But the day comes when he starts to hear strange sounds behind him but sees nothing when he whirls around. Could the carrots be after him? There's always a tone of mystery in Naughton's voice. He quickly travels his vocal register, for example, as a previously calm Jasper cries desperately for his mom when he suddenly thinks carrots are in their shed. Naughton draws out his words for emphasis, such as the slow and sinister "tunk, tunk" of carrots creeping along. The musical score underscores the mystery of Jasper's story. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2014 Odyssey Honor, 2014 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Starred review from June 25, 2012
In a spot-on parody of a paranoid thriller, a hungry bunny senses “creepy carrots” watching his every move. Jasper Rabbit doesn’t think twice about plundering the carrots of Crackenhopper Field “until they started following him.” Jasper glimpses three jack-o-lantern–jawed carrots behind him in the bathroom mirror (when he turns around it’s just a washcloth, shampoo bottle, and rubber duck—or is it?), and he yells for his parents when a carrot shadow looms on his bedroom wall. Reynolds (Snowbots) makes liberal use of ellipses for suspense, conjuring the “soft... sinister... tunktunktunk of carrots creeping.” Brown (Children Make Terrible Pets) illustrates in noirish grayscale with squash-orange highlights and dramatic lighting, framing each panel in shiny black for a claustrophobic film-still effect that cements the story’s horror movie feel. Jasper’s grin grows maniacal as he constructs a fortress and moat to contain the offending carrot patch, giving the carrots a happy ending in this Hitchcock spoof (Brown even sneaks in a sly Vertigo reference). Watch out, vegetarians—these carrots have bite! Ages 4–8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.