The Princess and the Pea

I volunteer as a reading tutor. This is a serious commitment on my part as I believe that learning to love reading and to be a competent reader, ensures a much better future for any child with whom I work. So, I was interested in this phonics based title, hoping it would be appealing to young students.

This is a book that can be used in many ways. It can be read as an enjoyable story with its accompanying lively illustrations. There are also vocabulary words and/or activities to work on. At the end of the book there are illustrations that will help a child with memory and concentration as they cab recall and retell the story.

I found all of this to possibly be a bit overwhelming for a child. I think though that this book could be very helpful if everything is done in steps, i.e. first read the story and later go back to try the activities on the bottom of the pages. I would love to spend time with a child while thinking about his title. I would then know how best to use it to encourage a young reader. All said though, this looks like a good resource.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Princess and the Pea is a whimsically illustrated retelling of the classic fairy tale for learning readers by Susan Purcell. Released Jan 15th 2022 by Rosen Publishing on their Windmill Books imprint, it's 24 pages and is available in paperback and library bound formats. This book is part of a series of classic fairy tales written for learning readers which have a similar format and focus.

Most kids will already be familiar with the classic fairy tale so will be able to concentrate on the lessons the author provides on literacy learning whilst listening to the story. There's an emphasis on the phonetics of the words in the text and the sounds with which they're made. Each page of the text has the relevant sound highlighted in the words and a highlighted text box at the foot of each page showing the words which are emphasized in the text.

The book includes keys for teachers/facilitators/caregivers helping them to present the material for learners optimally and comfortably. Small highlighted text areas on the pages also contain prompts for saying character names, finding objects, or studying pronunciations.

The art by Charlotte Cook is full of whimsy and small details which invite readers to take a closer look. It's rendered in a friendly naive style which is appealing and fun.

Although the publisher and author (and illustrator) are in the UK, the vernacular won't pose any problems whatever with English learners in other locations. The only non-universal phrases in this book are "They didn't hang about" and "beastly" which will be easily understood by all readers in context.

Four stars. Very nice for classroom use or homeschooling.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

This book is part of a set of books which retell classic fairy tales while also using this opportunity to solidify understandings of phonic rules including letter sounds, blends and vowel groups. Throughout the story are notes for what to notice (likely for a parent or teacher) as well as activities where the child needs to find the odd one out or sound out/emphasize a particular sound. I like that there are short instructions and the tasks take only a few seconds, so that the reader is not distracted from the story while fighting to do the activities, as reading can be a tiring task to begin with for some beginning readers. Additionally, as a Grade 3 teacher, I see way too often boring decodable or pattern texts, that young readers can find themselves feeling fairly successful but also bored! This book is definitely not dull, in fact it tells a whole story, one that many children would be at least somewhat familiar with and would enjoy following along. I would definitely recommend this book to teachers and families of children in the beginning stages of reading, likely ages 4-8. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this great book!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book is a good book for beginners learning how to read, as it has a lot of different phonic exercise incorporated in the traditional story of The Princess and the Pea.

The Princess and the Pea is a classic fairy tale that is a love story with intriguing characters and a plot that will keep kids engaged until the very end of the story. This re-telling, refreshing, retake of the classic enables readers to not only enjoy the tale but incorporates ways to understand phonic skills and become more proficient readers.

The book includes interactive activities which allow kids to practise skills which will enable them to identify letters and sounds thus allowing them to read independently more successfully.

I love the whimsical illustrations. They are colourful, vibrant and detailed. They visually make the text come alive. Fairy-tale phonics is part of series of classic fairy tales for beginning readers and the book includes guidance for teachers/facilitators/caregivers to help them disclose the content for early learners resulting in less stress and worry. This would be a great asset in a classroom setting or if one is homeschooling their children. I suggest that the book be presented in stages as the book focuses on a lot of phonics at one sitting which could overwhelm some novice readers. I recommend this book.

My daughter loved this Princess and the Pea phonics book. What a unique way to help children learn phonics, while also learning a new fairy tale. Lots of letter blends to practice. Looking forward to more titles in this series.

I was excited to see a new version of the Princess and the Pea as it was on my favorite childhood stories. I loved how the author used the story to teach phonics. It was effective and fun. I doubt that many children have heard this fairy tale and would enjoy learning phonics in this manner.

I appreciated the instructions in the front of the book to guide the learning activity. I also liked the activities on each page to reinforce the lesson taught on that page. The activities in the back of the book further help to recap the lessons and re-enforce what the child learned throughout the story.

This book would be an excellent reading tool for any pre-school and early elementary school classroom, as well as to any child’s home in that age range.

I look forward to reading other books in this series.

I received this advanced reader’s copy from the Author Susan Purcell, Windmill Books Publishing, and NetGalley. This is a voluntary review, and all comments and opinions are entirely my own.

The story of a prince who looks for a wife, and found one thanks to a pea. But this book will encourage children to learn about phonemes (single sounds) and blends of sounds made from 2 consonants. Interactive book, where children can find the images required by the author, sound out some words, say the name of things in the picture. Quite amusing one.