The runaway pea

K-Gr 3--Fresh, frozen or canned, we've all experienced the flee of a runaway pea! Determined to stir up some excitement, an adventurous pea launches from a plate of personified veggies into a sequence of unexpected and unfortunate circumstances. After bouncing into a puddle of sauce, plunging into the dog bowl, sailing into the fish tank, and triggering a mousetrap, the pea wrongly assumes "Surely there's nothing else left to go wrong?" Rolling to a halt beneath the refrigerator, the pea encounters a word of warning from a long forgotten banana and two moldy grapes nestled among crumbs and dust bunnies. Will it be too late for the pea to heed their advice before being swept further away from a predictable plate? A surprise ending depicts the unforeseen opportunity that can be found in straying from the bushel. Poskitt's lively, rhyming story coupled with Willmore's colorful, action-packed illustrations create a romping recommended purchase. Pair with the evil pea in Hendra's Supertato and readers will find two animated peas in a pod. VERDICT Recommended for classrooms and story times, this delightful read-aloud is sure to be gobbled up by delighted young readers.--Emily Brush, Novi P.L., MI

Can a legume on the lam ever find its hap-pea-ly ever after? Dinner may be on the table and ready to go, but for one little pea, the adventure has just begun. Despite the protestations and mockery of the food left behind, the runaway pea "ping[s] off the plate" and into a series of unfortunate events. Without intending to, the pea plops into a dollop of sauce, tumbles into a dog bowl, is flung into an aquarium, avoids a mousetrap and a spider web--and that's just for starters! As the pea's adventures grow increasingly arduous, he finally rolls under the fridge, where the desiccated fruit he meets there tell him that now that he has touched the floor "you're not loved anymore." But what's this? Could there still be a satisfying ending in store for this little green miscreant? This chipper British import keeps the action high as the pea pinballs from catastrophe to calamity. Clever perspectives amp the slapstick, and the anthropomorphic pea--he has two wide eyes and a mouth but no limbs--is surprisingly expressive. Expert rhymes scan without strain, keeping the merriment high (with the help of the occasional butt joke). Even if peas aren't any particular child reader's favorite food, the twist at the end may encourage budding gardeners to experiment with some plantings of their own. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Don't play with your food. Find food at play! (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.