Archive | September 5, 2017

Peas and Quiet

Peas and Quiet

Peas and Quiet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peas and Quiet

Gabrielle Tozer

Sue de Gennaro

Angus & Robertson

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781460752395

Down in the vegie patch behind the garden gnome, live two little peas in a pod they call home…

They joke and they laugh, these best of best friends… but they also drive each other right round the bend.

Because each night Pop, the eldest, snores like a bear as he sleeps in his chair, while Pip likes to bake and as she does, she loves to sing.  But she can’t sing well and her tuneless ditties wake Pop up in a very grumpy mood.  Eventually he can stand it no longer and he backs his bags and leaves the pod. Pip is glad to see him go but as time goes on both begin to realise how much they miss each other.  Is there a way forward that can give this story a happy ending?

This is a charming story perfectly illustrated to appeal to younger readers as has been shown by the number of times it was chosen as the dress-up favourite for parades for Book Week recently.  Young readers really embraced the characters and their dilemma as they recognised themselves and their siblings – often at loggerheads but lost without each other.  It’s rhyming couplets move the pace along ensuring the action is maintained without getting too intense, even when Pop is caught by the kitten making just the right amount of tension for little people to manage.  And they are sure to have suggestions about how Pop and Pip can overcome their differences – many will draw on their own experiences!

One of those stories that will stand out and quickly become a favourite.