The Princess and the Pea

by Hans Christian Andersen

Overview

In ”The Princess and the Pea a prince who wants to marry a princess finds it difficult to ascertain whether a princess is authentically noble. On a stormy night, a bedraggled young woman claiming to be a princess seeks shelter in the prince's castle. The Prince’s mother tests the girl’s claim by placing three peas underneath the twenty mattresses laid out for her. A humorous tale about the absurdities of the noble.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781974995400
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	164
File size:	480 KB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish writer who wrote prolifically in many genres but specialized in fairy tales. His stories, including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, and The Snow Queen, have been translated into more than 125 languages and have inspired many adaptations.

Date of Birth:

April 2, 1805

Date of Death:

August 4, 1875

Place of Birth:

Odense, Denmark

Place of Death:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Editorial Reviews

'Dusíková's pictures are full of soft edges and soft colours... A rendering to bring a smile or possibly a giggle.'—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

This unadorned translation of Andersen's whimsical tale comes from a German edition of 2007. The pictures are pellucid: Readers see the prince coming home laden with paintings of various princesses who do not fit the bill. They see why on the next page: One princess is sticking out her tongue, and another is picking her nose, and so on. The king and queen are playing chess on that dark and stormy night when there is a knock at the door, and it is the king himself who trundles down the castle stairs, candle and key in hand, to let in a very damp and bedraggled princess. It is the queen who places a single pea on the bedframe and orders the 20 mattresses and 20 quilts to be laid atop it. Our heroine wakes to complain that she barely slept and is "black and blue all over!" The prince knows then he has found a real princess, and a wedding ensues. It ends with the puckish (and traditional) lines: "The pea was put in a museum, where it may still be seen. And that is a true story." Dusíková's pictures are full of soft edges and soft colors, with pretty architectural details and an assortment of castle denizens, including a pair of cats and a toddler in jester's motley. A rendering to bring a smile or possibly a giggle. (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews