Customer Reviews

The Princess and the Pea

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a children's librarian I'm ever watchful and ever on the alert for the next Caldecott contender. I like picture books with a bit of oomph and pizzaz to them. I like picture books that try to do something a little different. I like picture books, in short, like Lauren Child's, "The Princess and the Pea". I picked this puppy up with the full expectation of getting something along the lines of yet another Charlie and Lola adventure. Instead I was stunned by the fabulous art I found. From its cover (cleverly designed to look like the cut-away with the chandelier is actually a giant pea) to its final pages where the book describes the artistic process, "Princess" has everything you're looking for in a great picture book, but with enough artsy-fartsy cache to lure even the stodgiest of adults.

Once upon a time there was a king, a queen, and a prince. The prince was of the right age to marry and his parents wanted him to find a suitable mate. The prince agreed to this plan but he wanted to marry for love. This would have been fine except that though he met all the nearby princesses, none of them had "a certain ... something about her". So the prince searched high and low for someone to love but no one was quite right. At the same time that the prince was getting depressed about this, a beautiful girl who lived in a treetop house started following the moon to see whether or not it was just as beautiful above and beyond the mountain as it was in her home. Of course this meant that she became hopelessly lost, but fortunately she stumbled across the king and queen's castle. And if you happen to know your classic "Princess and the Pea" story then you know what happens next. The characters in this book are all from the pen of Lauren Child but each one has been cut out, dressed up in real fabrics, and placed in very real sets. They move and dance and walk and sleep all within very real areas and are then photographed for this book. The result is luminous.

I ecstatically started talking up the charms of this book to a co-worker today when he pointed out, not unfairly, that Child's use of italics in the book is a bit... much. He had a point. There's nothing wrong with the writing itself. Child uses the same easy-going unassuming (yet charming) wordplay we've all grown so fond of in books like, "I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato" (winner of the book-more-adults-find-themselves-unable-to-pronounce award). Unfortunately that same set of words is fairly riddled with overenthusiastic italicizing. Every time I saw an adverb coming I felt like I had to duck or find myself over-emphasizing words that did not need to be over-emphasized. But some people won't even notice this and others won't find that it hurts the text a jot. I am in the latter category and certainly the book seems tailor-made to be loved.

Actually, it was the story that caught me off guard. At this moment in time picture book publishers are in the thick of a bit of post-modernity. When it comes to fairy tales, you're far more likely to find a book updating a stodgy old classic than telling a story straight. There are exceptions to this, of course, and "The Princess and the Pea" is one of them. The story (as you can see from my summary) is pretty darned faithful to the original. I found myself continually amazed that the book didn't teach that seeking a mate purely through their blue-blooded status was wrong. I was shocked that only princesses were considered as the rightful mates to the prince and that he, in turn, had no objection to having his potential dating pool so severely cut. But Child is charming. She gives you the original tale and then renders it so nice and sweet and funny that you completely forget that you're not supposed to enjoy a story that sticks so closely to its source material. The source material being, in this case, Hans Christian Andersen.

The only equivalent to this book I've seen before would be Abelardo Morrell's 1999 re-illustration of "Alice In Wonderland". In that book, the artist took Sir John Tenniel's original pictures, cut them out, and gave them a depth and originality I haven't seen the like of until now. One of the charms of "Princess" is that the back the book goes into a fair amount of detail describing how the illustrations for this story came to be. There is a mention that, "as in most doll's houses, not everything here is in scale". That may be, but if there are discrepancies then I must be blind to them. Plus photographer Polly Borland knows how to control everything from the sets to the lighting of a scene. So when Lauren Child said, "I love the paintings of Vermeer, his details and the way he allows you a glimpse into someone else's world", it was Borland's job to bring us a picture book series of Vermeer-like photographs. The result is marvelous. With an array of dollhouse furniture (including, I kid you not, a teeny tiny tureen of peas) at their fingertips the two artists have given us a book that takes an idea for a picture book like few others and manages to stab a jolt or two of gorgeousness into its veins.

I'm gushing. Sorry. I mean, photography in picture books can be used for good or for evil. Evil would be something like, "The Lonely Doll" by Dare Wright. Good would be this book. It'll lure the kiddies in with its promise of princesses right there in the title and it'll improve their budding little minds with its beauty and great choice of words. A must-have purchase from 2006.

On a recent trip to the local bookstore, my daughter picked up this book, pulled me to a chair and instructed me to, "Read this please, Mama!" The cover art caught my attention, but the title... another retelling of the Princess and the Pea left me less enthusiastic. I began to read...

Each page brought another terrific and interesting illustration, and the text, well... it was fun, smart, funny. Before I knew it I was completely drawn into the story and having a ball. More than one adult shopper stopped to listen in, clearly enjoying themselves as well.

Also a first grade teacher, I soon found myself thinking of how I could use this book in class with my students. High praise for a book to want to take it to work and introduce it to a class full of youngsters.

I'll keep my review short, but suffice it to say, this book is a real winner! And the illustrations... oh, the illustrations! I'll admit that I also found myself thinking Caldecott Medal.

I am stumbling over what great thing to list first. The incredibly vivid format? The gorgeous and unique blend of intricate dollhouse set creation and illustrations? The deft reinterpretation of what it means to be a REAL princess (as opposed to a cloying, vapid Disney princess), to say nothing of finding a life partner? The great vocabulary and lilt of the words as you read it? The joy of reading this story with a daughter or several little girls? Lauren Child makes this tale something totally magical but wonderfully grounded. Can't recommend it highly enough.

I orignally got this book because at my daughter's school a children's drama group came and did this play. We are big fans of Charlie and Lola so when I saw that Laura Child had written a book I knew this was the book for us. Each night my daughter chooses the 3 books we read each night and for the past 3 nights she has picked this book!

We love how this classic tale from Hans Christian Anderson has been updated. I like how the illustrations are not just illustrations but are actual paper dolls made by Lauren Child with her classic prints / designs she uses for her characters clothes and surroundings. The " set" for the book is actually a cereal box and the furniture and lighting are from actual doll houses. The page of the book explains how the book was done. We also like how the Princess has Raven Black hair and the story rolls off your tougue. It's just an absolutely well done story, enjoyable for both child and parent!

I got this book after searching for the Princess and the Pea story for my 2-yr-old, who is currently fascinated with our telling her that story orally at bedtime. This looked like a cool, artistic take on it. Sometimes I kick myself for buying books/picture books online for my kids without the chance to flip through it or preread it myself. I'll admit this book is, um, unique and clever--but it was not at all interesting to my young daughter and my guess is that it won't be until she's much older--say, at least 10. Two complaints from a parent's perspective--the faces, while certainly artistic, are pinched and angry looking on every page in an aloof and odd way and the last page describes in a snarky tone that real princesses don't eat peas. Great. As if it weren't hard enough to get kids to eat veggies. So, like I said, older kids/girls might like and the artistic adult crowd--but it was read/looked at once by my little girl and is collecting dust now. True test of a great book for kids is that they go back for more over and over for days! This one, not a hit.

I adore this book! I picked it up while shopping in Anthropologie a few months ago and it's been in frequent rotation at bedtime in my home since then. I have a daughter who is four and infatuated with princesses. This book offers her the glimpse of royal life that she loves, while at the same time letting me get lost in the beautiful illustrations and quirky dialogue. You can't help but read dramatically from this book! Speaking as an artist/designer, this book has amazing visual appeal. I especially enjoyed reading how the pictures and models were made. I would love to see more from this talented duo!

We borrowed this version of the Princess and the Pea from our library, and I had to have my own copy. This version is so incredibly unique (the king and queen are more like hippies... barefoot, beards...). The incorporation of the actual artwork with the miniature still life set ups work so dynamically against the lavishly designed text. The actual words, themselves, are meant to be read aloud, and nothing is overlooked. It's very suspensful and certainly not 'disney-ish' at all, which is a pleasant relief from so many of the children's fables and fairytales out there these days. I must admit, I bought this for myself, but my children are always captivated by this book no matter how tired they are at night!

I'm not a fan of the classic princess and the pea tale (really... the most desirable woman is one who is so delicate she can't sleep on anything but a perfect mattress?), but Child does make a few improvements (I like lines like "Not only was he romantic but also a little dramatic" in reference to the prince who decided that he would "live alone for all eternity, gazing at all the stars in the night sky"). The illustrations are what really makes this book. The colors are rich and each image is full of life. The author designed miniature sets and furnished them with real doll house furniture and then had them photographed.

I picked this book up at the library, thinking it was just another pink princess story I could read to my 5 year old. Low and Behold this was a wonderful story, no different then when I was 5 years old, but the illustrations, and more importantly the emphasis on manners was a breath of fresh air! The next morning before putting my daughter on the bus, I asked her if she was going to be a Real Princess -- and her answer with a huge smile was Yes Mommy, I will remember my manners today! Love books that help me enforce my normal nagging messages in a fun way!

I read this book to my child after reading a 'standard' version. It was much easier for my child to grasp what was happening in the story. The vocabulary is very 'high' for a four year old, although this book is 'recommended' for that age, I believe it would need to be supported by an easier version in order to be understood by an average four year old. The illustrations are wonderfully creative. I certainly intend to purchase this book for our collection.