Summary
The classic story of a prince in search of a real princess and could not find one anywhere. He gave up his search and decided that he would never marry. One rainy night a princess came to the door and the prince’s family invited her in to stay the night. The prince’s mother decided to put it to the test to see if she truly was a princess. She stacked the bed high with 20 mattresses followed by 20 comforters and placed a tiny pea beneath them all. In the morning when they asked how she slept and she said that she could not because she could feel something in the bed; they knew she was a real princess. They knew this because only a princess has skin so fine that she could feel even a tiny pea under all of those mattresses and comforters. They had finally found the prince a REAL princess.
Personal Reaction
I love that this book is in English and Spanish. There are many kids in our school system now who are bilingual. This would be a great way to bring a little culture into the classroom with a story that many are already familiar with.
Classroom Extensions
1. Read the book with no pictures and have the children make a mind movie. Then have them draw what they think her bed would have looked like.
2. Get the kids into groups and have them dress up and make it into a little play.

This book is about a prince who wants to marry a real princess. He looks everywhere but can't find one that he likes. Then a princess shows up on a rainy day. To prove that she is a real princess, the queen puts a pea under 20 mattresses where the princess will sleep. The next morning the princess says she couldn't sleep because there was something under the mattress and they knew that she was a real princess.

I liked this book. It was a good book about a prince and a princess. I thought the part about the pea was pretty interested and I was wondering if she was going to feel the pea and if she was a real princess.

This book could be used for teaching Spanish since it is written in both languages. It could also be used for a lesson about vegetables. You could bring different kinds of vegetables and after reading this book, you could show them a pea and how little it is.

In the book The Princess and The Pea a young prince sets off to find a "real" princess to marry. He is unable to find a real one so he comes home very sad. On a rainy night, a young woman shows up at the door claiming to be a princess. His parents welcome her in the house and show her to her room. The queen prepares a bed for the young lady but at a pea under twenty mattresses and twenty blankets as a test. When the princess wakes up complaining that she had slept poorly due to something odd being in the bed, they all knew she was a "real" princess. They knew this because, real princesses had fair enough skin that a small pea would cause pain. She and the Prince married and lived happily every after.

I enjoyed this story. When I first chose it, I thought I had never read it before. I was wrong, except the version I had read was called Once Upon a Mattress. I have also seen the play.

In my classroom I would use this bilingual version of the story to introduce Spanish to my students. If had a multi-culture class, I would read it on Spanish and then have the Spanish speaking students translate it for the English speaking students. I could also, use this story as a way to introduce my students to Traditional Fantasy. It is a short story and a quick read. I could read it and point out characteristics of the book that makes it known as traditional fantasy.

This book is told just like every other Princess and the Pea book. The illustrations are very different but cute.

I love this story. It is so silly and I know the kids will love it. I loved the illustrations. They are a bit different than what I am used to, but they are cute!

I would use this story to help with a Spanish lesson. This book has both the Spanish and English written on each page.

The prince wanted to marry a real princess, so he searched all over. There was always something wrong with the ladies. He went home sad. His parents opened the door to a princess in the rain and had her stay the night. The queen put a pea under her mattresses. The next morning, the princess was tired due to no sleep. the prince realized this was his bride.

I love how it was writted in both Spanish and English. If there were bilingual students in my classroom, they could read either part.

This could be good practice for students to learn a different language. ( )