The Princess and the Pea

by Harriet Ziefert

There once was a prince who wanted to marry a real princess. But he could not find one. Then on a stormy night, a princess knocks at the castle door. But is she a real princess? The queen knows just how to find out.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens

Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Manybooks]

I have if truth be told never been all that much of a personal fan of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea tale, finding in particular its internal message that members of royalty (of the so called nobility) are supposedly oh so very much physically sensitive that they would even notice and react with total discomfort to a small and insignificant pea underneath a large number of mattresses at best a bit ridiculous and at worst quite annoyingly entitled and arrogant, although of course, I guess that there might well also be a certain amount of satire and irony present in Andersen’s text (but I do tend to believe and find that for most children, The Princess and the Pea seems to leave the in my opinion rather unfortunate impression that some individuals, that those of noble, of higher birth are somehow supposed to be more sensitive and are therefore also more special and increasingly worthy).

And while at least with Hans Christian Andersen’s original, there still is a bit of nuance and humour present, Harriet Ziefert’s adaptation, her very short and incredibly basic The Princess and the Pea, it really does in my humble opinion focus so entirely and absolutely on the above mentioned concept that individuals of noble birth are meant to by reason of their background automatically be more sensitive in nature than those of us not thus exalted and therefore also more in need of being approached with so-called kid gloves and mollycoddling so to speak that reading Ziefert’s retelling has been not at all a reading pleasure but in fact rather decidedly the opposite (a pretty well tedious piece of adapted and retold text with an annoying message, and indeed also with not even one word of acknowledgement of Hans Christian Andersen as the original author of The Princess and the Pea tale).

Therefore, only a very grudging two star rating for The Princess and the Pea as I just do not find Harriet Ziefert’s adapted and retold text at all engaging (and most definitely more than a bit problematic) and also do think that on a visual level Emily Bolam’s accompanying artwork is much too cartoony and too one dimensional for my tastes (bright and colourful perhaps, but neither visually imaginative enough for me nor with any kind of aesthetic depth).

[Amy]

This has never been one of my favorite fairy tale. If the princess had manners, she would not complain to her hosts about a little lump in her mattress. That would be a true princess.

[Natalie Jadin]

The plot of this story is very straightforward, a prince seeks a “true” princess, and a single test involving a pea under many mattresses determines her authenticity. While simple and easy to follow, the story’s theme comes to a sensitivity with worthiness. It can feel outdated or narrow in its message. Illustrations often help soften this by adding humor or exaggeration, making it playful than rigid. Originally from a Danish tale by Hans Christian Andersen, many modern retellings, including this one, lean into polished European royal settings that reflect traditional Western ideals of class and refinement. While still enjoyable, this story benefits from discussion about what truly defines identity and value. A light, classic tale that works best when paired with conversations about fairness and modern perspectives.

[Becky B]

An easy reader retelling of the classic fairy tale about a princess who gets a horrible night's sleep because of one little pea...proving her royal blood.

This is a very basic retelling of this fairy tale. There are no new twists or anything. The font size is large and language used is simple to help out beginning readers. If you're looking for a quick, traditional telling of this tale, pick this one up.

[Nathan Bartos]

Read for my Storytelling class.
Read about 50 times to memorize it for my first story but I won’t count every version and time I read it for my sake and yours.

[Meltha]

This is a basic, simple retelling of the story keeping most of the original aspects intact. The diction level is set so that quite young children would be able to read this on their own. While the illustrations aren't stunning, they're adequate for getting the story across.

[Tricia]

enjoyable easy reader version of the classic tale.

[Amy Brown]

Viking Easy-to-Read Level 2, AR 1.8

[Jaime]

This was slightly bizarre but interesting fairy tale. My kids did not like this but it had a peculiar appel for me.

[Barb]

A creepy childrens classic

[Libby]

The only reason we gave this four stars is because we can't figure out why there were so many fake princesses. Bea really wants to give it five stars anyway because they got married in the end.

[Laura]

A simple version of The Princess and the Pea for beginning readers.

[fiona]

she is so real for this

[Henley Goddard]

This book i would like to read