Princess and the Peas
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A reimagining of the classic "The Princess and the Pea" set in an African American community in the South in the 1950s. Now in paperback!
In this adaptation of "The Princess and the Pea," there are no mattresses. Ma Sally cooks the best black-eyed peas in Charleston County, South Carolina. Her son, John, is a highly eligible bachelor, and three local women vie for his hand in marriage by attempting to cook as well as Ma. At the last minute, a surprise contestant named Princess arrives at the door. Princess and John are well-matched, but Princess has her own ideas. When told she has won John’s hand, she asks him to scrub the pots and pans before she'll give him an answer.
Dedicated to "Black families everywhere," this heartwarming story, with its fairy-tale tone, will have broad appeal.
—Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her first children's book, Himes transplants Andersen's "The Princess and the Pea" to an African-American community in mid-20th-century South Carolina, where a young man named John thinks it's about time that he got married. His mother, Ma Sally, an acclaimed local cook, has mixed feelings: "She couldn't bear the thought of her only child sitting down to an ill-cooked meal." Thus it's decided that John's prospective bride will have to whip up a batch of black-eyed peas that pass muster with Ma Sally. Demonstrating one's smarts and skill in the kitchen is a definite step up from simply being sensitive to foreign objects hidden under a mattress or 20, and Himes's heroine, Princess, is no pushover. "I like John well enough, but I've got my own plans," she says, setting aside any notions of a shotgun marriage. Instead, she suggests a date at the juke point and makes sure that John is doing his share: "Why don't you show me how you scrub them pots and pans?" Rendered in a flattened, folk art style, Himes's paintings lovingly evoke the period setting, highlighting the community's warmth, traditions, and fashion. Ages 5 8.
