The Princess and the Pea

by Ronne Randall (Retold by), Hans Christian Andersen, Anna C. Leplar (Illustrator)

Beautifully illustrated in color by Anna C. Leplar - this classic story is retold by Ronne Randall and will be a joy for any young child.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Classics, Childrens

29 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2005

About the author

Ronne Randall has been editing and writing children's books since the 1980s, and has published more than 130 titles on both sides of the Atlantic. Ronne was born and raised in New York City, now permanently resident in the UK. Her interests include art, psychology and folklore.

Reviews

[Lorellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because it has nice illustrations. Why is this weird story a classic? I just don't see the value. Tot was kinda bored by it.

[Emma Lammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember this book as a child. Lovely illustrations

[Lori C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Fairy Tales
Ages: K-3rd

I expect a certain amount of chauvinism and ridiculousness in fairy tales but this one is the worst. The prince sets off to find a suitable princess to be his wife. And she must be a REAL princess. (This is important to the story. You know how royalty can be.) One by one, he dismisses princesses for one reason or another - nevermind that we hear nothing about his own shortcomings. Eventually, a bedraggled woman lands on his doorstep claiming to be a princess. He is relieved that she refuses to see him until she cleans herself up and makes herself presentable. (Little do they know what three children, a castle mortgage, and a quarantine will do to such frivolities.) She is beautiful and shiny of course but how does he know that she is a REAL princess?? Obviously the Queen knows how to settle this because obviously a real princess will detect a tiny pea under layers and layers of mattresses. So rejecting a princess because she's a liar, or is boastful, or is proud, is acceptable, but rejecting one because she's a ridiculously picky piece of work is frowned upon. Good luck choosing an acceptable anniversary gift, Prince.

[Vong · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know the story of the princess and the pea so i wont bore you with the details. The reason why ive inlcuded this in my review is because of the interesting and inventful way it was used in a year 1 school. Apart from looking at speech, recap and characters of the story, the teacher and class worked very hard on writing their own version but through a play- style.
the teacher wrote a short play script and used 3 chn to silent act the parts of King, Queen and Prince and another 3 to read out the parts.
the talking characters were encouraged to read their parts in exaggerated voices whilst their silent other halves used their acting skills to recreate the scene. the teacher also joined in and played the maid.
The LO was acheived by all pupils, the excellence and enjoyment factor was fulfilled and byt the end every child had created their own playwrite short playwrite of the original story.
This is something i will definitely try to incorporate and adapt in my lessons.
the teacher and class made this stoy and swayed me to rate this a 5/5.
Thanks!

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erittäin onnistunut mukaelma Hans Christian Andersonin prinsessa ja herne -sadusta. Kuvakirjassa on kaunis, satuun hyvin sopiva kuvitus ja käännös on mielestäni hyvin onnistunut.

[Maryanne Hollingshead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson is a folktale meant for the ages of 4-8 years old. I have seen some awards for movies but not this particular story. This story is about a Prince who is looking for a real princess to be his bride, one stormy evening a princess comes along and claim to be one. The Old Queen puts her to test by placing a pea under 20 mattress knowing only a princess would be that sensitive. The next morning the princess says she had a horrible sleep because of something in the bed. They knew she was an actual princess because of this. This story is very short, so not many people know of it, or they at least might just know the premise of the story. It is a short tale to teach children about judging others and how sometimes it can be dangerous to do so. I think it is an entertaining story for children to read about, however it is a little boring to read. I give it a 3/5.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the original, not the re-told version but I can’t find it listed on good reads. I actually think the re-told versions are better.

[Marcela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuento cultural danés escrito por Hans Christian Andersen

-- Año: 1835
-- Aire: Cuento de hadas (principes y princesas)
-- Detalle de la trama: una pila de colchones

[Sydney Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this version.

[lils · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘There, now that is a true story.’

[Enesia Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was an interesting book. I thought it was a little crazy the lengths the queen went through to see if she was an actual princess though.

[Ana Bugalho · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's story... revisiting nostalgia.

[Kassidy Pine · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Princess and the Pea a young princess was in search and wanting to marry a “real” princess, however he could not find one even though he searched. There was a knock at the city gate and the old king opened it. There was a girl standing at the gate that was completely disheveled. The old queen didn’t believe the girl when she claimed to be a real princess. Therefore, she took 20 mattresses and 20 eiderdown beds and laid them on the pea. The princess was told to sleep on this all night and in the morning she was asked how she slept and she told them she slept horribly because she says that she was laying on something hard. After this they realize that this girl was a real princess for she could not even sleep on the pea and so the prince took this delicate girl for a wife. The pea was put into a museum where it can still be seen. The author does a good job of keeping the story chronological by having every event following the natural order of what would be expected. It is very traditional in the pencil pictures presented within the picture book. The illustrations show symmetrical interactions with the same story being told as being presented in the pictures. The story tells the moral of testing some people may be the way to discover who they really claim to be. Just as the king, queen and prince test the young maiden to see if she is a true princess. Along with teaching patients. Just as the prince went out to find his true love and princess, what he really needed was to wait till love came knocking on his door.

[Rykki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This classic fairy tale is beautifully told and just as beautifully illustrated. The story is a simple enough tale that has a fantastic moral. With each princess you learn something that princesses are not. At the end of it all, a meek, bedraggled princess, soaked from the rain claims she is a princess. Being the most humble and otherwise most princess-like, they had to be certain. I love the way the book focuses on the favorite princess being humble, mild-mannered, and kind-hearted. My children loved this story, and this will probably be one we use for lessons for a long time to come.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, I find myself wondering how the original fairy tale reads. When the Prince is searching for a Princess to marry in this tale, he is aware of character traits and not just appearance, which I appreciate. Now I'll have to find out what HCA actually wrote.

Update: I checked what I believe to be a more original version and Randall has done a nice job of retelling this old favorite.

[Kinsley Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun story for young children, and it's easier to read than the actual classic. Such a cute story about a princess who can feel the pea beneath her bed no matter how many blankets and mattresses she has, it's silly and fun for younger grade children.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great book ! read it!

[Amy Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this fairy tale, but I'm still searching for a favorite picture-book version.

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite revisited. 😊