Roll, roll, little pea

This sweet and tender tale opens with a brown-skinned child shelling peas into a bowl. Alas, one of the peas escapes and gets the story rolling. Without anthropomorphizing the runaway legume, the narrative follows the small, motion-propelled orb as it wends its way "across," "under," "around," and "through" various obstacles indoors and out, evading a variety of creatures who would like to "taste," "crunch," "nibble," "peck," or "munch" it. Ultimately, it drops into a hole, and "the earth swallows the pea!" This, however, is not the end but rather the beginning of the cycle, which with time and good growing conditions allows the child to once more find the errant pea. Very much in the oral tradition, Bergame's story is full of repetition, patterned action-filled sentences, and memorable vocabulary. Attiogbe's slightly retro palette and flat, graphic illustration style give the book a timeless feel that calls to mind the works of Dahlov Ipcar and Ed Emberley. There have been a number of picture books about peas in recent years (e.g., Little Pea by Rosenthal and Corace; Baker's LMNO Peas, rev. 3/10, and sequels); now, happily, this visually appealing and dynamic offering joins them. (c) Copyright 2024. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this French import, a pea escapes a bowl and starts an adventure. While a girl is shelling peas, one accidentally drops to the floor and rolls away. The tiny green sphere then becomes a possibility for lunch for many different animals. As the pea rolls through the house and out the door, a mouse looks at it hungrily, a cat wants to "CRUNCH" it, and a rabbit wishes to "NIBBLE" it. Bolded action words that describe how each animal would consume the pea highlight new vocabulary. Propelled by a baffling momentum, the pea rolls down a path, through some mud (where a pig wants to "MUNCH" it), and into a forest. It is finally swallowed by a hole in the ground. The next harvest season, a new shoot appears, and high atop a tendril, the girl is reunited with the pea. The repeated refrain "ROLL, ROLL, LITTLE PEA" makes the tale roll along as merrily as the little pea itself. Bold graphic designs with thick accent lines are visually arresting. The girl, seen only on the first and last pages, has dark skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A sneaky plant life-cycle story for the youngest set. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.