THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

Between bright pink covers this frilly retelling of the Andersen story pairs a wordy text larded with italics to photos of elaborately appointed miniature rooms or semi-abstract landscapes into which Child has placed scribbly paper-cutout figures. It resembles a theatrical production with paper dolls. Declaring that his bride must be “more mesmerizing than the Moon,” “more fascinating than all the stars in the sky,” and also have “a certain . . . something,” the Prince rejects all royal applicants, until at last along comes a real Princess who, being “a bright girl—as all real Princesses are—” accepts his proposal after passing his mother’s princess test. (Picture book. 7-9)