The Pea Blossom
Retold and illustrated by Amy Lowry Poole
Published by: Holiday House
In a small garden near the great city of Beijing, five peas rest patiently in the same shell. As the peas grow, so do their dreams. One pea longs to fly to the sun and another to the moon. Two more hope to dine with the emperor. But it is the smallest pea whose journey transforms the life of a mother and daughter.
Amy Lowry Poole gives a unique setting to a tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Her exquisite paintings on rice paper and eloquent retelling bring together Eastern and Western traditions, lending a new meaning to an old story.
Amy Lowry Poole dusts the story off and gives it new clothes in a picture-book version she calls simply ”The Pea Blossom.” As she sets the story near Beijing, the new clothes are Chinese. The pictures are gentle and controlled, and they are an unexpectedly good fit. In the text, Poole tailors the fate of the peas to the Chinese setting as well, as two peas end up in the emperor’s rice bowl. She adds details from Chinese folklore, legends of sun and moon. All these amendments are very appropriate for Andersen, who was a traveler, fascinated by world folklore. Poole’s psychological chinoiserie makes for a version that is both true to the spirit of Andersen and suitable for the current picture-book crowd.
- The New York Times (read full review)
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… Her 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.
- School Library Journal
Poole gives her retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s story of five peas in a pod an Eastern flavor by setting it in “a small garden near the great city of Beijing… Poole successfully repackages Andersen’s familiar tale of transformation by adding bits of Chinese mythology as well as ink, gouache and rice-paper illustrations whose delicate lines and muted earth tones evoke Chinese scroll paintings. First class.
- Kirkus Reviews
…uncluttered illustrations evoke traditional Chinese scrolls: the off-white rice paper provides a textured background for people, plants and animals rendered in soft line strokes in earth tones. A sense of quiet humor and wonder pervade this story: insects and birds appear fascinated by the events; and gouache outlines transform a treetop into a host of birds, cats and squirrels… Poole’s verbal and visual eloquence brings a timeless tale to a new generation.
- Publishers Weekly
