CBTNW, Part 7: Revenge of the Carrot Seed

The notoriously underappreciated Garrulous MacKenzie has graciously consented to reveal a manuscript that endured substantial editing before publication. The manuscript, plus MacKenzie's letter, comprise this edition of Children's Books That Never Were.


From the editor:

Dear Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson,

I am pleased that two masterminds of children’s literature have teamed up to create one book for the youth. I do have some concerns over the text, and am wondering if you inadvertently sent me a rough draft. Mrs. Kraus, I recommend making the text as minimalist as possible. Mr. Johnson, your illustrations are spot-on with the exception of the father smoking a pipe. My “young people” sources say that, in six months, pipes will be obsolete in favor of cigarettes. You don’t want your illustrations to look dated!

Sincerely yours,
Garrulous MacKenzie
Editor-at-Large

The rough draft:

Revenge of the Carrot Seed

A little boy planted a carrot seed.

His mother sipped a martini and said, “I’m afraid carrots only come from the supermarket.”

His father smoked a pipe and said, “I’m afraid carrots only come from a can.”

And his big brother said, “Why would you want to grow your own vegetables? They’re yucky. Have a candy bar instead.”

Every day the boy tended to his garden. Nothing came up. And nothing came up. The boy’s short-sighted, unsupportive, bourgeois family kept saying, “Give up already, kid.”

But every day the boy tended to his garden.

And then one day, a carrot came up.

The carrot was so large that it bounced several times and smashed through the living room window.

This ruined the mother’s and father’s cocktail-party… just as the little boy had known it would.