Don't Let the Peas Touch!: And Other Stories

by Deborah Blumenthal

Meet Sophie and Annie. They're sisters. They're smart. They're fighting. They're funny! In these three linked short stories, the two girls work out solutions to their differences and to common... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 043929732X
• ISBN13: 9780439297325
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.2" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Sisterly apPEASment

Sibling conflict drives this collection of three stories about Annie and her little sister Sophia. It's a realistic but humorous look at how fights can begin, and shows some examples of how they can be resolved. In the opening story, Annie complains loudly and dramatically about her older sister's attempts at cooking: The blue cheese smells terrible, there's too much milk in her cereal, and the raisins probably have pits in them, and, most horrid, of all, the peas have rolled against her omelet! "'Oh no!' Sophie yelled. `The peas are TOUCHING the eggs! Don't let them touch!'" Annie tries to help by separating them with some French bread, but Sophie, not surprisingly, hates French bread, and in her disgust she knocks everything over. Author Deborah Blumenthal draws a perfect word picture of the yucky results: "'Eeeeeeewww,' Sophie said, as a pea-juice puddle drowned the bread, turning it green and soggy, floating all the food together." Blumenthal excels at portraying the sudden emotional shifts in the family, from unsteady calm to explosive conflict, and eventually to joyful resolution. The stories show that fights can be intentional or arise from misunderstandings, that feelings can be conveyed loudly or held privately, and that age differences bring real problems as well as opportunities to learn. Although the book optimistically resolves these issues-though not without hurt and irritation-it conveys that they're an ongoing and normal part of growing up in a family. Timothy Basil Ering's buoyant illustrations suggest a variety of playful styles, including childlike scrawls and exaggerated lines, the exaggerated emotions of the Expressionists, and the abstract forms and unconventional colors of the Fauves (e.g., Wassily Kandinsky). Ering is a talented artist whose drawings (in graphite and grease pencils, pen and ink, and acrylics) switch from the ultra-conventional(some of his backgrounds look like flat "paint-by-number" compositions) to the wildly imaginative. Most families will recognize the dynamics here, and the stories and pictures are fun and engaging whether one takes away a "lesson" or not. Besides the cooking story, there's a story about the sisters' temperamental differences, and the issues of sharing and trust. This last story is quieter and more introspective than the preceding ones; I think Blumenthal and Ering may have thought, rather wisely, that a gentler concluding story would be more appropriate for a listener about to drift off to sleep. This is a fun story collection united by a common theme, unusually expressive illustrations, and a superb overall design.

3 stories in 1

This is a collection of 3 related stories that all involve the same characters. Sophie and Annie are sisters. In the first story Annie, the big sister is taking a cooking class and must fix the family some meals for practice. Sophie doesn't like the foods she serves because she mixes things together and Sophie doesn't like that at all! In the next story Annie wants to study so she tells Sophie to find something quite to do. Everything she tries ends up being noisy! Finally in the third story Sophie wants a pet because Annie has one. Find out what unique pet the sisters decide on in the zany picture book. Each story was short. These would make a great bedtime read! I would recommend the book. Kids who have siblings will be able to relate to the characters well.