Rooty the Rutabaga - Steven Megson

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AUTHOR: Steven Megson

ILLUSTRATOR: Andy Yura
GENRE: Children's Picture Book.
RATING: 3.75 stars.

A nice picture book about the danger of assumptions.

Rooty the rutabaga lives a solitary life in a dark corner of the garden. He knows the other vegetables are laughing at him, and this makes him sad and grumpy. However, one day, when the two bell peppers end up interacting with him and dragging him to play, Rooty realises that the other vegetables didn’t even know about him, forget about making fun of him.

Many times, kids are afraid of taking the first step towards friendship in fear of rejection. Rooty’s story will teach them that most of the times, our assumptions about people’s reactions are baseless, and we will never know the truth unless we make a genuine attempt first.

This is the first of the Rooty the Rutabaga series; each book can be read as a standalone. A straightforward yet fun indie work, the story delivers to a great extent. The various vegetables will add to the learning potential of the book. There are some nice facts and activities at the end of the book.

The illustrations are cute enough. I especially loved the “couch potatoes”, though kids might not understand the relevance of that inside joke.

The vocabulary is very easy, perfect for the target age of 3-8 years.

The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited.

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