Meet the Author
Hello, and welcome! It is very nice to meet you.
My name is Meredith Bezak and I wrote the Bunny & Carrot friendship series.
Let me tell you a bit about my inspiration, share a special message with parents, and introduce you to one of my illustrators.
My Inspiration
Being a mom is the best job I have ever had — and I have had many different jobs over the years. I have cleaned houses, worked as a receptionist, processed payroll taxes, written complex technical manuals, designed software, and worked on really big websites for really big companies. Now I can now add author of children’s books to the list.
But becoming a mom was a dream come true for me.
My daughter, Eleanor, was the little “Bunny” I had dreamed of having for years, and I call her Bunny because she was due at Eastertime. When she was very young, I sang her short songs to bring a smile to her little face — often the words and tune were made up on a whim — and one in particular began with, “Bunny and Carrot are best friends…”
As my daughter grew, I worried that we might forget the songs I sang to her, so I jotted down the words in my journal. It was during that time that the idea to turn each line of the Bunny and Carrot song into a book took shape, and the friendship series was born.
I thank God for my daughter, for the inspiration to sing that little song to her all those years ago, and for placing the desire to write these stories on my heart so that I might share them with others.
What the Bunny and Carrot Friendship Series Is Truly About
A MESSAGE TO PARENTS
On the surface, Bunny and Carrot Are Best Friends might seem like another book about acceptance. In part, it is — but acceptance only comes after Bunny and Carrot spend time getting to know one another. In fact, they are trepidatious at first, and yet a friendship eventually blossoms. That alone is a sweet and meaningful lesson to share with our children and grandchildren, but there is much more for us to consider and pass along.
As adults, we come to understand that meaningful and lasting relationships require a commitment of time, patience, grace, and forgiveness. This isn’t always something we talk openly with our children about — perhaps because it feels complicated. But the reality is that our children are growing up in a world where relationships often break down around them. What lessons are they learning from what they see?
We must ask ourselves: Are we modeling for children that some relationships are worth the commitment of time, patience, grace, and forgiveness? Do we consistently show them that other people deserve kindness and have value?
Like most people, I’ve allowed some of my friendships to fade due to time, distance, or even differences of opinion. While the end of certain relationships may have been the healthiest outcome, hindsight has shown me that some of those friendships were worth working on. That is what I hope to convey to our precious little children — that truly good relationships are worthy of our time, patience, grace, and forgiveness.
The Bunny and Carrot friendship series explores these themes in a simple, humorous, and age‑appropriate way, including: making friends, building trust, working through disagreements, and choosing to remain friends — even when it’s difficult.
Aren’t these exactly the kinds of lessons our children need today?
Meet Anastasia!
Anastasia Merzlaya lives in Norway.
In addition to holding a PhD in Physics, art has always been an important part of her life.
Anastasia has a special love for watercolors and has worked on illustrations for a variety of children’s books and PC games.
Meredith originally shared simple black‑and‑white pencil sketches of Bunny & Carrot with Anastasia, who brought them to life with warmth, color, and charming scenes. Her illustrations helped establish the visual world of Bunny & Carrot, and Meredith is deeply grateful for her creativity and care in shaping these first images.