Cute detailed illustrations but the green pea eyes were creepy. It had a fun twist in the middle of the plot from the traditional story but the ending remains pretty much unchanged. The ending happens to be one fairy tale ending that is very unsatisfying- who said the poor girl wanted to marry the picky prince and why was she knocking on their door at night in a storm in the first place? Plenty of questions to explore in a retelling but they aren't addressed here. ( )

This book was very cute. I would use this at a first grade level, the story is simple but the words can be rather difficult.

From the pea's perspective.
The queen mother is all about peas, from her beady green eyes to her jewelry to her crown babushka. The prince is mild-mannered and bookish. The palace rooms are wallpapered in veggie motifs. The prince brings back polaroids of all the princesses he's met, some famous, others not.
The gardener's daughter is always busily working in the background until she seeks shelter in the palace one stormy night. The palace gardens glow with happiness and abundance.
Lovely take on the story. ( )

A prince is looking for his princess. Who ever sleeps on the mattress and can feel the pea will be his princess.

The pea in this story takes on a great deal of responsibility. It's responsible for being able to separate the real princess from all of the fake ones. It's just like the classic story. The pea is set under all of those mattresses except you will be surprised at the end. The illustrations are wonderful and full of color and life. ( )