Rooty the Rutabaga: A Story About Vegetables, Inclusion and Seeing the Sunny Side of Life

Rooty the Rutabaga lived in his own corner of the garden. When he heard other vegetables dancing and laughing, he assumed the potato, broccoli, peppers and their friends were laughing at him because he looked different. Rooty sat in his corner feeling angry. One day two peppers were playing catch, tossing a nut. When the nut hit Rooty in the head, he was upset, but he asked the peppers if they were looking for the nut. Soon the peppers introduced Rooty to thier friends. At first, the other veggies were curious becaue they had never seen a rutabaga. But eventually, Rooty makes new friends and learns no one was laughing at him after all. Children and parents can discuss why it's important not to jump to conclusions and to accept people who may be different than you.The illustratons are adorable and I think children and famiies will love this book. In addition, they will enjoy the questions and activities at the end of the book. Highly recommended.Review by children's author Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Rooty, the rutabaga, lives in an isolated part of the garden. Secretly, he longs to be included with the other vegetables.One day, the peppers are playing catch with a nut that strays into Rooty's area. They persuade him to visit the sunny part of the garden where he meets the other vegetables. Will Rooty be accepted? What can he learn?This is an adorable picture book. Many don't know what a rutabaga is, but my family always included it in Thanksgiving dinner. Readers learn a lot about vegetables and are given some fun activities to play with at the end of the story. Primary and elementary school-age readers learn about friendship, inclusivity, and vegetable choices.I highly recommend the book.

This is a wonderful children's book with positive messages. Using this story, kids may learn about diversity and how to be kind to others.

Great book can’t wait to read the rest my daughters loves it and the little extra activities after the book was over.

I love the imaginative idea of personifying the veggies in my garden! The book made me smile and I shared it immediately with my 7-year old grandchild! Looking forward to hearing more about Rooty.

Loved this story about Rooty and his new found friends. An easy read, with beautiful illustrations to draw and maintain the kids attention, all while delivering a very important message. I like that there is a little activity guide at the end of the book as an added bonus. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to ordering the next installment once it's available!

Fun book and easy read for 6 and older!

This book is so cute and has a great message that we should all teach our children. Illustrations are precious. I hope there are more veggies coming. ❤️

This is a wonderful book to read with young children. As a long time primary school teacher I would highly recommend it as part of your classroom library. It teaches many lessons; loneliness, fear, inclusion and happiness. The illustrations are colourful and compliment the story beautifully.

Who knew a vegetable garden could have a dark side? Kids will love Rooty as an unlikely and original character. Anyone familiar with exclusion will enjoy Rory’s discovery of friendship and community. Literal couch potatoes combined with wonderfully illustrated vegetable patch characters capture and enliven the happiness to be found in unexpected places. The writer’s natural voice flows along gently, but the story has some bigger words that develop vocabulary and the games included support this too. A very worthwhile read.

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.3.75 stars.

Loved the message from this book, my kids enjoyed it and my youngest wanted me to read it more then once right away! This is definitely going to be in our frequently read pile! Can't wait for more series of this book to Come out :)

This is an incredibly cute book with positive messaging for kids of all ages. In fact, if more adults read this book the world would be a better place. The only downside is my daughter doesn't want to eat mashed Rutabaga anymore, but that's honestly a tradeoff I'm okay with. 10/10. Can't wait for the next installment of Rooty and the vegetables in the dark part of the garden