The Princess & the Pea

by Eve Tharlet, Hans Christian Andersen

By feeling a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds, a girl proves she is a real princess.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1987

About the author

Ève Tharlet est née en Alsace (à Mulhouse) un 5 juillet, mais c'est en Allemagne qu'elle grandit, et dans les livres d'images qu'elle apprend à "rêver"... Après le bac, elle prend des cours de gravure et de sérigraphie à Berlin, puis poursuit ses études à l'école des Arts déco de Strasbourg, dans la section illustration de Claude Lapointe. Le monde de l'enfance, celui où l'on ne sait pas encore lire, ou pas encore bien lire, la passionne. C'est dans cet univers-là que l'image doit raconter le plus, parfois sans le support d'un texte et uniquement par le dessin et la couleur. À ses débuts, sa curiosité l'amène à se lancer dans tous les genres : mini-livres (de la taille d'une carte à jouer), calendriers, conception de jeux, recettes de cuisine, posters, transferts, imagiers, abécédaires... ?Avec ce premier "matériel", elle arpente les Salons jeunesse internationaux et rencontre ses premiers éditeurs. Elle met notamment en images les contes classiques : Hans Christian Andersen, les frères Jacob et Wilhelm Grimm, la comtesse de Ségur... mais aussi ses propres histoires ou celles d'auteurs contemporains, aussi bien français qu'étrangers. En plus de 30 ans d'illustrations jeunesse, elle collabore principalement avec deux éditeurs étrangers (minedition et NordSüd) qui co-éditent dans de nombreux pays. Parmi ses nombreuses réalisations, elle dessine les histoires bien connues du lapin Fenouil (NordSud), une série imaginée par Brigitte Weninger, ainsi que de la bande dessinée "Monsieur Blaireau et Madame Renarde" (Dargaud), scénarisée par Brigitte Luciani. Ces derniers albums sont également disponibles en édition de poche (L'École des loisirs). En 2014, toujours avec Brigitte Luciani, elle commence "Cassis" (Dargaud), une série qui a pour personnage principal la petite dernière de M. Blaireau et Mme Renarde. La série connaît une extraordinaire visibilité avec la diffusion sur France 5 d'un dessin animé. Des albums thématiques de BD sortiront en parallèle des aventures classiques de "Monsieur Blaireau et Madame Renard": "La Famille Blaireau Renard présente" : les émotions, les arbres ou encore le vivre ensemble. Pour ne pas perdre le contact avec les petits, elle intervient régulièrement dans les écoles, les librairies ou les bibliothèques. Elle encadre également des ateliers pour enfants, aussi bien en France qu'à l'étranger. Ève Tharlet vit désormais en Bretagne, non loin de l'Atlantique.

Reviews

[Deanne Dela Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, really cute illustrations!

[Abby Beyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Awards (None)
2. Grade level- K-2
3. summary- The prince had traveled all over the world to find a princess to marry. He decided only a real princess could feel a pea beneath 20 mattresses and 20 quilts. He ends up finding his princess and marries her.
4. Review- I find the illustrations to be very clear and detailed. The story is interesting, however unrealistic, but uses simple vocabulary. It can be very accessible for young readers.
5. In class uses- folktales, classic stories, traditions

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are soft and cute. I've always thought this story was a little odd...never quite sure what the message is. This is an abbreviated version which doesn't leave you with much substance to ponder on that front. It's frothy, but fine.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art.

[TJE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic, sat through but not super interested yet. Asked a few questions and wanted to see the pea.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are very unique, but also very child friendly. The noses are all pointed and cartoon like, which is sort of the focus of the book; it is simplistic style with the watercolor medium. The king in the picture looks similar to the King Louis the 14th of France, which could lead to a conversation about real Kings, Queens, and Princesses. The author also plays with colors too as most of the book are in blue hues to represent outside, inside the hall of the castle is gray, but the pages leading up to the bedroom for the Princess is becoming more distinctly pink, a symbolization of the rising action and climax.

[Alexis Smith-Gaddis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version of the classic folktale "The Princess and the Pea" is told similar to the other versions. The princess knocks on the door and claims she is a princess. They did not believe her. In order to prove she is a princess, a pea was placed under twenty mattresses. She felt the pea under all of the mattresses and therefore proved she was a princess. I would use this children's folktale in my classroom to teach a lesson on elements of a folktale. I would use this along with other versions of the same folktale to teach on lesson on comparing and contrasting the stories.

[Kelsea Breedlove · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princess and the Pea, follows a prince around as he is in search of a real princess. The queen knows that only a real princess could feel a pea through 20 mattress. This story reveals who people truly are. I would use this story in my classroom to help students learn who they truly are, and also you could use it during a math lesson. Have the students count the different mattress and then write their own story about The Princess and the Pea and incorporate someone who stays true to themselves.

[Brittney Dermo]

One night, there is a girl that comes to a palace door. The king himself answers, and finds a girl seeking shelter. She claims to be a princess. The queen is skeptical, but she has a test. She puts a pea, beneath an incredible amount of bedding. A real princess would feel the pea. The girl not only spends a fitful night, she is rendered black and blue by the offending pea. And so the prince marries her. This would be a great book to use in my unit on folktales.

[Natalie Traylor]

Once, there was a princess who came to the king's door. They were unsure if she was a princess or not, so they put a pea under her bed to see if she could feel it or not. This was the real test to see if she was a princess. She could feel the pea, which meant she was one.

I would use this book in my classroom when I am teaching what a folktale book is. Then, the students would complete an art activity creating all of the mattresses with a pea at the bottom.

[Alli Eidson]

The people in the book were uncertain if the young girl was a princess, so they put a pea under her mattress. If she could feel the pea underneath her when she laid down then that meant she was a princess. If she could not feel the pea then that meant the young girl was not a princess. However, she did feel the pea so the people knew she was a princess for sure.