Little Pea

Very cute book. I think I have *finally* figured out why Little Pea hates the candy so much: he does not remove the wrappers before he eats them! (There are no wrappers scattered about as the candy vanishes, and for that matter he has no hands to unwrap them.) So of course he can't stand eating it!

Go on, ask yourself, if vegetables had mouths and could eat, what would be their dinner of choice? Why, candy of course! Mama and Papa pea just want their sweet little baby pea to grow up and be the strongest pea he can be. And to do that, it means eating candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But little pea hates Candy. What he wants to eat is spinach. Lots of mushy, dark spinach. Luckily for him, Mama and Papa pea have promised him some as long as he eats all his...

I absolutely love this story about the unlikely, unsuspecting daily routines of a Pea family. Selective eating kids will especially love this book, and will relate to the "pea parent's" mealtime bargaining tactics. Amy Krouse Rosenthal keeps her audience laughing through every page (and every gulp of candy) in Little Pea.
-- Reviewed by Jill MacKenzie

This is a sweet and hilarious picture book all about not wanting to follow the rules all the time. A book of opposites like the others in their "LITTLE' series written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace. Published by Chronicle Books.

#vegetables #dessert #allaboutme #mustread #funny

I loved the simple illustrations in this book so much that I actually bought it for myself, but it has turned into my 4-year-old's favorite story. He just loves seeing Little Pea make all those yucky faces when he is "forced" to eat candy, and then is rewarded with the big bowl of spinach. I didn't even think to push eating spinach on my son, since his only idea of eating vegetables is potatoes and corn, but he actually asked me to make him some. He now LOVES eating spinach pesto and stuffed shells with spinach and ricotta, spinach quiche and spinach lasagne. Everytime he sees spinach for dinner he shouts out "yea! little pea food!" Who knew? Now my 1 1/2-year-old is hooked on the story, although since peas are her favorite food, we had a little hurdle to jump over since she wanted to make sure she didn't Little Pea or his mom or dad or any of his friends. I just scooped out a spoonful and set them aside "in a safe place" and she happily ate the rest. Love this book.

Sure, it probably won't get your veggie-hating kid to request spinach at every meal, but the illustrations are adorable, and the storyline, an endearing tale about a little pea whose mom and dad make him finish 5 pieces of candy before he is allowed to eat his favorite dessert - a big bowl of spinach! - is silly enough to make my two-year-old son crack up every time we read it.

He loves personalizing the book for our family (instead of Mama Pea, Papa Pea and Little Pea he calls the peas: Mama Pea, Dada Pea, Ethan Pea and Molly Pea) and what toddler can resist making "yuck" and "blech" sounds along with the Little Pea when he's suffering through a plate of candy.

Ethan makes me read it again and again. I love this book (and my little peas.)

My older niece doesn't like spinach. Not even after reading this book :)

She eats other vegetables, though. I bought this book because she liked it when we checked it out of the library, not to teach a moral lesson.

We both think it's really funny that Little Pea has to eat candy in order to get spinach, and the illustrations of Little Pea's day are perfectly well done.

I definitely recommend it.

Could you ever imagine the child you are about to feed to protest yet another dinner of candy? That happens in the world of Little Pea, who can't wait to rush through his candy to get to his wonderful spinach dessert! Pre and beginning readers will thoroughly love this awesome story and great illustrations.

This is a fun story, and it just might be a tool in your arsenal to create a veggie lover at your table!

This is a simple little story that is adorably illustrated and fun. This little pea wants spinach, not the candy his parents force feed him!

The illustrations are minimal but pleasing...she can create the most amazing expressions for a little green pea.

My toddler loves this, as well as Little Hoot...a similar "reverse" story for bedtime.

My nearly 11 month old little boy LOVES this book! I was hesitant to get it as it doesn't come in a board book. He cracks up laughing before I even open the book. His favorite part is when the little pea has to eat the candy. The "blech" sounds crack him up! Very cute book.

Little Pea is a sweet book, just right for toddlers who understand cause and effect. The humorous twist is that instead of having to eat vegetables to get to dessert, the baby pea has to finish all his yucky candy to get to the good stuff (spinach). Both the language and illustrations are playful and fun. My 2+ year old loved it and I second his recommendation.

I think little pea is like a great adventure. what would you think about this story? I hope you like this story because it is a great book and a great story for kids. My six-year-old grandson wrote this review.

Little Pea is a sweet book, just right for toddlers who understand cause and effect. The humorous twist is that instead of having to eat vegetables to get to dessert, the baby pea has to finish all his yucky candy to get to the good stuff (spinach). Both the language and illustrations are playful and fun. My 2+ year old loved it and I second his recommendation.

I think little pea is like a great adventure. what would you think about this story? I hope you like this story because it is a great book and a great story for kids. My six-year-old grandson wrote this review.

This book has become a favorite in our household -particularly requested over and over by our 3 year old. The humor of a pea who has to eat candy for dinner and is thrilled with his spinach dessert is something young kids and adults can both appreciate. The sounds of disgust from the pea eating the dreaded candy caused our kids to laugh so hard, they nearly cried. Great book!

I read this book before letting my daughter see it and immediately put it back in the box and returned it. There is no way I would read a book about a character (pea or otherwise) eating nothing but candy for dinner and, after doing so, be rewarded with a bowl of spinach. The end, I suppose it was the author's idea of "a good lesson" was that veggies are good, like dessert. However, that lesson is such a tiny part of this book - most of it is a story of eating candy for dinner. Sorry, but I don't know a child that would fall for this overly simplified and laughable attempt at reverse psychology. The word "candy" is used so much in this book that I think even the best little veggie eater would think candy for dinner would be neat. Books with good messages are terrific to find. This one isn't it. See ya little pea!

My 3 & 5 year olds absolutely adore this book. I was a bit surprised, but the author really appeals to the audience here. It seems a bit boring to me, not my favorite read. It was cute the first 50 times. I had hoped it would help my girls open their "palates", so to speak...no such luck. Oh well, at least they like the story! Cute illustrations.

I recently organized my sister's baby shower and the theme was Peas in the Pod. Since we had a few kids coming to the shower we had both adult and kids souveniers. Each child got this wonderful book as a souvenier and all the adults were so happy and impressed. The story is very refreshing and the kids loved it. If your child does not like to eat vegetables then you should get this book.

This darling story should be in every little boy's room! It's cute when read to a girl, but the main character is a little "he". Cute artistry makes it great for early childhood reading and story line keeps it fun for older kids. There is a real universiality in this one!!

This book is really really adorable and fun to read to your kids. This book and the Mo Willems Pigeon series are must- have books for any toddler. Great illustrations, super cute, and silly. My daughter LOVES this book!

I love this book. The illustrations are fabulous, and the story is very clever. I can't wait for my daughter to be old enough to understand it (I bought it when she was just 3 months old - if that). At this point I mainly read it to her for my own entertainment.

This is a wonderful book! Little pea is so cute! I buy this book for everyone and they always love it. For little kids and for kids at heart, Little Pea is a book you will keep for years and keep re-reading.