Genre
Cumulative tales
Picture books for children
Subject
Carrots
Farmers
Mice
Snowmen
Soups

27 months - a story about trading for what you want/need and learning the value of friendship and giving. A cute story with cute illustrations. O really enjoyed this one and today she said she was making "perfect tea" while practicing her pouring skills. That's when you know it's a good book, when O twists it to make it part of her play. ( )

When you’ve read as many children’s picture books as I have, it is difficult to be surprised. Perfect Soup surprised me. It’s a very cold day and Murray the mouse wants to make a perfect soup. Everybody knows that Perfect Soup has potatoes and corn and tomatoes and carrots. But Murray doesn’t have a carrot. To obtain the carrot he needs, Murray must complete a series of I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine tasks. Only one friend offers to help Murray without receiving anything in return, the snowman. Murray decides to give the not-easily-obtained carrot to his new snowman friend for a nose and share the Perfect Soup, despite its lack of carrotness, with the snowman.

I like to be unexpectedly surprised.

“’Farmer, will you please give me a carrot?’ asked Murray. ‘I need a carrot for Perfect Soup.’

Farmer leaned on his pitchfork. ‘I reckon I’d give you a carrot if you hauled some logs from the timber. I need wood to build a barn.’

Murray thought about his soup. He liked things perfect. ‘You will have your wood!’ said Murray. ( )