Pea Blossom - Hardcover

Lowry, Amy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823418642 ISBN 13: 9780823418640

Publisher: Holiday House, 2005

Synopsis

As the other peas in the bunch travel to distance lands and exotic places, the smallest pea goes on a journey to help improve the lives of a needy mother and daughter, in a unique retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale.

About this title

About the Author:

Amy Lowry Poole lived near the Summer Palace in Beijing, China for four years. There, she studied scroll making and worked alongside Chinese artists. Her paintings have been shown in galleries and museums in Beijing, Chicago, New York, and Maine. She now lives part of the year in Chicago, Illinois, with her three daughters and spends summers with them on a farm in Camden, Maine.

From School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 1-3–Poole has taken Hans Christian Andersen's "Five Peas from One Pod" and pared down the text, eliminating the religious overtones but retaining the humor and poignancy of the original. Five peas sit dreaming in their pod in a small garden outside the city of Bejing. The first four make grandiose plans, anticipating flights to the sun or moon, or dining with the emperor. The fifth and smallest pea is content to wait and see. When the pod is cracked open and a boy with a peashooter sends the peas flying in different directions, the first four meet disastrous ends, but the fifth lands in moss on a window ledge. When it sprouts and flowers, it brings first hope and eventually health to a sick child. Andersen's recurrent themes of disdain for the pretentious and the presence of the noble within the simple shine through. Poole's luminous ink-and-gouache illustrations on rice paper reflect both her training in traditional Chinese techniques and her own creative spark. The result is paintings that are both graceful and intricate, with animals nestled below ground and in trees for the observant to discover. An informative author's note completes this worthy addition to the picture-book shelves.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

About this edition

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0823418642
• ISBN 13: 9780823418640
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32