Many are familiar with the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale of a young woman who was walking in the forest with her family, became lost, and knocked on the door of the castle. While attempting to find a princess for their handsome son. Agreeing to keep the young woman overnight, the Queen called the maids and footmen and ordered them to build mattresses high, so high the young woman needed to climb a ladder to get to the top.

The queen placed a small pea between the bottom mattress. When the guest complained of the inability to sleep, it was determined that this was a princess worthy of their son's hand in marriage.

The illustrations are beautiful. The clarity and colors are crisp and clear. ( )

For some reason this is one of my very favorite fairy tales. The version, however, did not need to be told. The text apparently is intended to be easier to read, and the pictures have a bit of glamor, but really, the only thing neat here is a note that gives a brief bio of [a:Hans Christian Andersen|6378|Hans Christian Andersen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1396920989p2/6378.jpg] and a bit of the history of the theme of the story. ( )

This book has amazing illustrations that make you feel apart of the story. The details in the font and fancy gold border around the pages dress up the book. The story is a great traditional retelling of the fairy tale. This book stands out from the rest because of the attention to detail. I would recommend it!

I was teaching pantomime to a group of junior high students and they each had to pick a story from their childhood to retell. One group picked "The Princess and the Pea." After watching their rendition I had to read the book again. As I turned the pages I saw how much they remembered from their youth. It got me thinking about comprehension. The students had to remember: first the king/queen were looking for a princess for their son, next a young girl comes along (a lost princess), next the king/queen decide to test the girl to see if she is a pricess, next they test her by placing a single pea under a large stack of matresses, next she lays down but she can't sleep because of the bump in her mattress, finally in the morning everyone is excited to hear she could not sleep because it means she's the princess for the prince. I say that long synopsis to recall all the details they had to remember. I think having students listen to a story and then try to repeat the story by acting it out would be an excellent activity. It would show what they rememered and how they understood the tale they listened to. ( )

Summary:
There was a prince who wanted to find a wife. He didn't want an ordinary wife, he wanted a princess. A girl who was wet and cold from the rain, knocked on his door. The prince ask her to spend the night, and he place a pea under 20 mattresses. The girl didn't sleep well because she felt like she was sleeping on something other than the mattresses. She told the prince she didn't sleep well and the prince got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. The Prince said any girl who can feel the pea is princess.

Personal Reaction:
I have always loved this story. It shows that the smallest things can make the biggest difference to someone.

Classroom Extension:
1. In the classroom, the teacher could have their students talk about their favorite fairy tails and why it was their favorite.
2. In the classroom, the teacher could have their students also explain what they think would consider someone a prince or a princess. ( )