The Little Pea

The Little Pea

By Eric Battut

Sky Pony Press

Published 2011

I do not believe I have ever read a picture book that had a little green pea as the lead character, so kudos to the author for taking that bold step. The composition of this book is equally unique with plenty of white space surrounding the smaller, whimsical illustrations.

The story is easy to understand. A pea hops out of its pod and decides to go find himself. As he observes the world, he tries to emulate the creatures he sees…a peacock, a tiger and an elephant. At this point, the story could have gone one of two ways—the pea could decide he looks silly and conform to the way a pea should look, or the pea could embrace his originality and decide to be different. I’ll let you discover the ending on your own, but I was pleased with the lesson presented at the end.

I admit, I thought this story was a bit iffy to use in a storytime setting but a recent preschool audience proved me wrong. All eyes were on the book as I told the pea’s story and they were equally pleased with the outcome. So cuddle like two peas in a pod and enjoy this original picture book with your favorite sprout!