The Penguin and the Pea

Title: The Penguin and the Pea

Author:  Janet Perlman

Illustrator: Janet Perlman

Picture book for ages (approximately) 5 and up

Rating: 4of 5 stars

Summary:

This book is a parody of the popular fairy tale The Princess and the Pea.

Opinion:

This is an adorable and humorous retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Perlman puts her own unique spin on it with the plump penguins, each with their own quirky personality, and when the Prince asks for the Princess’s fin in marriage the moment is truly magical.

The illustrations in this book are equally as humorous. They tell a story all of their own, showing activities the penguins participate in and facial expressions they have. Reading this book was truly enjoyable and I laughed out loud regularly.

Although I do enjoy this story and this fairytale in general, it does have its problems that should be noted. From a critical literacy standpoint there are questions like, why did she have to be a real princess? What makes princesses so special and “common” girls so unwelcome? If the two penguins loved each other before they knew she was a real princess why did she still have to prove it? What would have happened had she not felt the pea? There are many issues with this fairytale all of which should be recognized before stories like this are presented to children as good stories or quality literature.

I would use this book in my classroom, not only on my library shelf, but for genre studies as well. I would also use it for its critical literacy potential, maybe doing a comparative analysis of several versions of The Princess and the Pea and asking my students the questions I’ve listed above, forcing them to think from a critical literacy standpoint.