Beauty and the Pea. (Tadpoles: Fairytale Jumbles). Hilary Robinson. Illustrated by Simona Sanfilippo. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2013. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $8.95 (pbk.), $19.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-1159-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1155-1 (RLB). Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Jane Whittingham. *** /4

excerpt:

Beauty stayed a week at Pea Castle,
to the beast's complete delight.
He asked if her mattress was comfy
and if she'd slept through the night"

Beauty and the Pea is a "jumbled fairy tale", one of a series of rhyming fairy-tale themed picture books written for beginner readers. Through playful rhyme and charming illustrations, Beauty and the Pea combines the well-known stories of Beauty and the Beast and The Princess and the Pea into a pleasing new addition to the fairy tale collection. In this jumbled fairy-tale world, a Beast longs for a kiss from a princess, a kiss which would break a spell cast upon him by a terrible witch. The Beast uses a pea placed under a mattress to determine the royal lineage of a beautiful girl, and the pair live happily ever after. Beauty and the Pea is a simple, gently humorous story that can quickly be read to or by young readers.

     The text in Beauty and the Pea is simple and easily accessible for transitional and early fluent readers, while the bouncing rhythm and rhyme create a story ideal for reading aloud. With its use of elements from different fairy tales and its limited text, Beauty and the Pea might be best suited to children who are familiar with the plotlines of the original fairy stories. Children without this background familiarity might find the storyline somewhat confusing.

      The illustrations are softly coloured in pastels and watercolours and typically display scenes of action, adding interest to the story. The illustrations, which make up the majority of each page, are positioned below the clear and easily readable text.

      With its combination of fairy tale elements, engaging rhyme, simple text and endearing illustrations, Beauty and the Pea adds variety to the well-known fairy tale standards and would be a welcome addition to a children's library.

Recommended.

Jane Whittingham is an MLIS student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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