Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson is credited with popularizing
“The Princess and the Pea” when he included an adapted version in
his Tales for Children, published in 1835. Since then, the story of the
super-sensitive princess and the pesky pea that has her tossing
and turning all night has been interpreted in many books and even a
long-running Broadway musical called Once Upon a Mattress. Today, it
remains a favorite among children who like their fairy tales with a large
dose of humor!
Discussion Questions1. Where does the prince place the pea?
2. How does the prince know his visitor is a real princess?
3. Do you think it was fair for the prince to “trick” the princess?
Why or why not?
Notable Retellings
BThe Princess and the Pea by Harriet Ziefert (Puffin, 1996).
Cartoony art and uncluttered text come together for a kid-pleasing
read-aloud.
BThe Princess and the Pea-ano by Mike Thaler (Scholastic, 1997).
Replace the pea with a pea-ano and you’ve got one funny fractured
fairy tale!
BThe Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be by Mini Grey (Knopf,
2003). Kids will adore this clever tale told from the pea’s point of view.
Companion ReproducibleFocus Skills: Following Directions, VocabularyDevelopment, Writing
Distribute copies of the reproducible of page 104.
Then invite each child to fill in the blanks to write
his or her own customized version of “The Princess
and the Pea.”
Once upon a time, a girl named ____________________________ girl’s name
knocked on a prince’s door. “I’m a princess. Can I stay here tonight?” she asked. “OK,” said the prince. Could she really be a princess? The prince had a plan to find out. He put some
_________________________s on a bed. Then he covered them
food
with ______________ mattresses and ______________ quilts.
large number
large number“Here is your bed. Good night!” said the prince.
The next day the prince asked the girl how she slept. “Terrible! I tossed and turned all night.” she said.
“Great! Now I know you are a real princess!” he said.� THE END �
My Funny Fairy Tale Fill in the blanks to write your own funny fairy tale.
Name _______________________________________________
Scholastic • Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide
• page 104
104
LevelH
Word Count279
Vocabularyrude, shivering, snoozed,
stormy, yawn
Supportive Featuressome short sentences; simple story structure,consistent structure
Challenging Featurescombination of short and long sentences, dialogue
ComprehensionUse this book with theComprehension Quilt
The prince smiled. Then, he got down onone knee and asked the girl to marry him.
The girl said yes, of course. Then they bothlived, and snoozed, happily ever after.
The Princess and the PeaA retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Rebecca Thornburg
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16
The prince looked high and low for the perfect wife, but had no luck. He could not find a real princess anywhere!
Scholastic • Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide
• page 106
A
B
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I slept verybadly. It felt like there was a boulder undermy back!” she said with a yawn.
Why? He knew that only a real princesscould feel a tiny pea under 20 mattressesand 20 quilts!
Once upon a time, there lived a prince. Hewas very lonely and wanted to get married.
One stormy night, there was a knock on hisdoor. When the prince opened it, he saw agirl. Her hair was wet. Her clothes weremuddy. And she was shivering.
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“Here is your bed. Sweet dreams,” he said.
The girl seemed very nice. Could she reallybe a princess? The prince had a plan tofind out.
The next morning, the prince invited the girl to have some pancakes. “How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Hello. I am a princess. May I stay heretonight?” she asked.“Of course,” he said kindly.
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Scholastic • Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide
• page 108
C
D
First, he put a tiny pea on a bed.
The prince invited the girl in. “Come warm yourself by the fire. Have a cup of hot chocolate,” he said.“Thank you,” she said sweetly.
Second, he piled 20 mattresses on top of the pea. Third, he piled 20 quilts on top of the mattresses.
But the girl’s dreams were not sweet. Shetossed and turned. She barely slept at all.
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1. Make double- sided copies of themini-book pages.(You should havetwo double-sidedcopies for each one.)
2. Cut the pages in halfalong the dashed line.
3. Position the pages so that the letteredspreads (A, B, C, D) are face up. Placethe B spread on top of the A spread.Then, place the C and D spreads ontop of those in sequence.
4. Fold the pages in halfalong the solid line.Make sure all the pagesare in the proper order.Staple them togetheralong the book’s spine.
A
“Me!” said the dog.“Me!” said the cat.“Me!” said the duck.
Once upon a time, a little red hen decidedto plant some wheat. “Who will help me plant this?” she asked.
2 15A
B
“I will just have to bake it by myself,” saidthe little red hen.
“I will just have to plant it by myself,” saidthe little red hen.
134 BC
“Not me!” said the dog.“Not me!” said the cat.“Not me!” said the duck.
Before long, all the wheat was ground.“Who will help me bake this into bread?”asked the little red hen.
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“I will just have to grind it by myself,” said
the little red hen.
“I will just have to cut it by myself,” said
the little red hen.
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
Before long, all the wheat was tall.
“Who will help me cut this?” asked
the little red hen.
7
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D
Before long, all the wheat was cut. “Who will help me grind this?” askedthe little red hen.
“Not me!” said the dog.“Not me!” said the cat.“Not me!” said the duck.
98 DC
The LittleRed HenA retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Lynne Cravath
Making the Mini-Books
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Before long, all the bread was baked.
“Who will help me eat this?” asked
the little red hen.
“No! Because you did not help, I will just
have to eat this bread by myself,” said
the little red hen.
And so she did, with jam on top!
The LittleRed Hen
A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Lynne Cravath
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“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
You see, they were all quite lazy.
“No! Because you did not help, I will just
have to eat this bread by myself,” said
the little red hen.
And so she did, with jam on top!
The LittleRed Hen
A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Lynne Cravath
