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Pea Llewellyn #4
Pea's Book of Holidays
Pea's family are separating for the summer holidays. Big sister, Clover, is off to Drama Camp, Mum is staying at home to finish her new book, and Pea and Tinkerbell are going camping.
But things don't go quite to plan, and Pea finds her summer suddenly filled with Enid Blyton, castles, ghosts and mysteries . . .
But things don't go quite to plan, and Pea finds her summer suddenly filled with Enid Blyton, castles, ghosts and mysteries . . .
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2014
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 8, 2014
When I finished this, all I could think was: "I don't read enough of Susie Day's books." These Pea books are glorious, wondrous things, full of heart and love and I am still glowing with the post-reading feeling several days later.
I am burning with love for this book, the latest in the Pea series, this book of holiday adventures in Corfe *coughEnidBlytonland* Castle. And genuinely, it's like Christmas for anyone who has a healthy love for Enid Blyton stories, adventure, and Girls And Boys Being Awesome.
One thing I want to highlight in this book is how beautifully simple it is with regards to representations of diversity. The issues of diversity in children's literature is one which is rightly very much debated at present. In Pea's Book of Holidays we have a whole range of characters of diverse appearances, diverse family structures, diverse sexualities and diverse physical attributes. And the great gift that Day has is that she presents it just - how it is. It's not a highlighted, box-ticking exercise; it's just a reflection of the diverse society of our modern day world. I love her greatly for her ability in achieving a simple, matter-of-fact reality and I was a little bit in awe of her story-telling ability throughout.
I love this book. There's such a purity of story in it, of fun and love and adventure, that I can't really be coherent in reviewing it for you. What I can say is that I can't recommend it enough and have made myself a promise to pick up the rest in the series, and everything else done by Day, as soon as humanly possible.
I am burning with love for this book, the latest in the Pea series, this book of holiday adventures in Corfe *coughEnidBlytonland* Castle. And genuinely, it's like Christmas for anyone who has a healthy love for Enid Blyton stories, adventure, and Girls And Boys Being Awesome.
One thing I want to highlight in this book is how beautifully simple it is with regards to representations of diversity. The issues of diversity in children's literature is one which is rightly very much debated at present. In Pea's Book of Holidays we have a whole range of characters of diverse appearances, diverse family structures, diverse sexualities and diverse physical attributes. And the great gift that Day has is that she presents it just - how it is. It's not a highlighted, box-ticking exercise; it's just a reflection of the diverse society of our modern day world. I love her greatly for her ability in achieving a simple, matter-of-fact reality and I was a little bit in awe of her story-telling ability throughout.
I love this book. There's such a purity of story in it, of fun and love and adventure, that I can't really be coherent in reviewing it for you. What I can say is that I can't recommend it enough and have made myself a promise to pick up the rest in the series, and everything else done by Day, as soon as humanly possible.
June 14, 2014
What a brilliant book! It's a fantastic and knowing update of Enid Blyton's Famous Five series that pays loving tribute to the books while raising very intelligent questions about how a kid (or anyone, really) from the 21st century should relate to them. And it's also hysterically funny. Hooray for Susie Day, and hooray for Pea!
July 11, 2016
Sinking into this book - like the whole, wonderful Pea's Book series - gives such a feeling of deep, deep comfort, but with an edge - it's really *smart* at the same time as sweet and fun. In this book, Pea and Tinkerbell go with their writer's-blocked mum to Corfe Castle, which inspired Enid Blyton, in hopes of inspiring their mum's work and giving themselves a summer holiday. As big fans of Enid Blyton's novels, Pea and Tinkerbell are desperately hoping for adventures full of kidnapped scientists, smugglers, etc - and the (more realistic) adventures they do find really are enormously fun and funny.
At the same time, though, thoughtful Pea is also having to face the uncomfortable aspects of the books she used to love - after all, among other things, she's part of a mixed-race family, so once those issues in Blyton's books are pointed out to her, it's hard for her to ignore them. So she's wrestling with the question of whether it's okay to love things that are flawed and problematic at the same time as she's having adventures with the fabulous Paranormal Investigators of Edinburgh (PIE), trying to give her little sister the most excitingly Blyton-y holiday ever, and trying to mother her own mother.
What I love about this book - like the earlier books in the series - is that it's so fun and funny at the same time as it's also deeply emotional, with real, significant issues going on. I empathize with her mum in many ways, and there really is a lot to like about her, but there were also times in this book when I honestly felt like I hated her. I didn't hate her at the end. But the question of whether you can love something or someone who's flawed and imperfect certainly applies there, too. And that's true across the families shown in this book, all of whom genuinely love each other, and all of whom are imperfect in their own ways.
But there's also SO much humor and fun - I laughed out loud several times!
I loved reading this book, and I only wish there would be more Pea's books! This one had a lovely, lovely ending, though, and I can't wait to read the spin-off series about Pea's best friend, Sam One.
At the same time, though, thoughtful Pea is also having to face the uncomfortable aspects of the books she used to love - after all, among other things, she's part of a mixed-race family, so once those issues in Blyton's books are pointed out to her, it's hard for her to ignore them. So she's wrestling with the question of whether it's okay to love things that are flawed and problematic at the same time as she's having adventures with the fabulous Paranormal Investigators of Edinburgh (PIE), trying to give her little sister the most excitingly Blyton-y holiday ever, and trying to mother her own mother.
What I love about this book - like the earlier books in the series - is that it's so fun and funny at the same time as it's also deeply emotional, with real, significant issues going on. I empathize with her mum in many ways, and there really is a lot to like about her, but there were also times in this book when I honestly felt like I hated her. I didn't hate her at the end. But the question of whether you can love something or someone who's flawed and imperfect certainly applies there, too. And that's true across the families shown in this book, all of whom genuinely love each other, and all of whom are imperfect in their own ways.
But there's also SO much humor and fun - I laughed out loud several times!
I loved reading this book, and I only wish there would be more Pea's books! This one had a lovely, lovely ending, though, and I can't wait to read the spin-off series about Pea's best friend, Sam One.
July 23, 2021
I was very pleasantly surprised by this. It's a lovely warm story with a wonderfully diverse cast, all handled incredibly well. With the books of Enid Blyton, specifically The Famous Five, as the inspiration, this considers both their continued appeal and some of the issues in a constructive way. It also manages to weave into this the difference between adventures found in books and those in real life, such as the fact that Pea and Tinkerbell can't happily explore Corfe Castle alone as it's full of other visitors (and they have to pay to go in!!!). I hadn't read any of the other's but probably will now.
November 5, 2017
This is my first Susie Day book, and I loved it. It was so funny and charming and quirky. I love the diversity of the characters, and the way their very different personalities were sketched out. You definitely don't need to have read the other "Pea" books to enjoy this one. It had the feel of an Enid Blyton book, light, fun, and silly, but without the racist/sexist/classist bits. This is of course explicitly what Day was trying to accomplish with this book, as Pea is intent here on giving her little sister Tinkerbell a true Famous Five summer holiday.
December 19, 2019
It takes a LOT of skill and smarts to write something this cozy and heartwarming and to do it while also effortlessly dealing with disability, racism, and meeting your heroes (in this case, meeting Enid Blyton while having a sister who's mixed-race and realizing someone whose work you loved has some really repellent views on people you love). Just absolutely brilliantly done.
October 24, 2017
This book was very fun to read. Peas book of holidays is a creative idea about a girl called Pea and her sister Tinkerbell on ( you guessed it ) a holiday near a castle.
I would definitely read again! :3
I would definitely read again! :3
February 19, 2017
Another brilliant book by Suzie day but this time the family are out and about and there are quite a few dilemmas! So many times I laughed out loud and I think that Suzie Day did a fantastic job of linking some real life books to this book.
January 9, 2015
Lovely fun story about pea & her family. Nice easy & enjoyable read.
June 14, 2015
Another fabulous read.
I loved the connection to Enid Blyton. As always I love the family and seeing their adventures.
I loved the connection to Enid Blyton. As always I love the family and seeing their adventures.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews