posted on 31 Aug 2023

The Princess and the (Greedy) Pea by Leigh Hodgkinson

This is one of those rare, very silly (in a good way) picture books which is a pleasure to read aloud. Knowing the traditional story of ‘The Princess and the Pea’ makes it seem especially clever, but it can also be enjoyed in its own right. There are other intertextual links because anyone who loves the classic ‘There was an old Woman who swallowed a Fly’ rhyme will immediately recognise its influence on this very different sequence about a strange set of food choices.

What makes it especially odd is that all the food in this version is consumed by a greedy Pea! As we all know, pretty much anything can happen in a children’s story but I had to express my initial surprise when he jumps out of a bowl of peas and starts off by eating a sprout which is clearly much bigger than him. However, my two young grandsons were not fazed at all, one commenting that he probably preferred to eat green things.

Every page is a riot of colour with the text embedded in different ways. All of the delicious looking food is demolished using some interesting verbs to make it more vivid: swallowing, slurping, munching, gobbling, noshing, guzzling and chomping.  The repetitive rhyme is designed for developing memory and joining in is encouraged by using a bold font to name each food item. We all had some favourite pages that we lingered over which I will to describe in more detail to give you a flavour. I particularly liked his blissful expression as he closed his eyes to eat a huge piece of pie:

‘There was a green pea

Who wolfed down the pie

I tell you no lie

He wolfed down that pie’

I always enjoy books that need the reader to sometimes physically turn it around to accommodate an illustration, this time two consecutive pages show the huge bumpy, lumpy bed with its many coloured mattresses piled up over the now massive Pea. My mischievous four-year-old grandson thought it was hilarious when the Pea had gobbled up all of the food and then started to eat the table! He also found it very funny when the princess discovers that all the food has gone and that most of the plates have been broken as a result of eating the table. We all laughed to see the inadequacy of the naughty Pea’s hiding place as he tries to cover himself with the tablecloth. My seven-year-old grandson likes to look closely at illustrations and so was keen to point out the similarities and several differences between two parallel pages when the Princess and then the Pea go up the stairs. 

None of us predicted the surprise ending so I won’t spoil it for you.  

I strongly recommend this very funny story published by Walker Books. You will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop- who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have a copy on their shelves.   

Karen Argent

August 2023