I Don't Want To Be A Pea! (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Hugo is Bella’s hippo and Bella is Hugo’s bird, and they are going to the Fairytale Dress Party. However, they cannot agree on what to dress like. Hippo wants to be the princess, but Bella doesn’t want to be a pea. She wants to be a mermaid and Hugo can be her rock, but Hugo doesn’t want to be a rock. They fight, but eventually agree to be two peas in a pod. The illustrations are in mixed media with the characters having babyish proportions. Both characters are in almost every page, except in three spreads. When they fight there are two spreads that deal with one character each. The middle spread of the book actually has no characters at all only dialogue. However, the characters are still represented by a visual synecdoche. Half of the spread has a white background covered on orange paint paw prints from Hugo while the other half is an orange spill of paint with white prints of Bella’s feet. This is a great book that can be used to teach about compromise, and it can make a great read out loud. This was a cute book for my 5-year-old.Hugo Hippo and Bella Bird are friends who have opposite thoughts. "All hippos have birds, and Bella is mine. Correction. All birds have hippos, and Hugo is mine."They are getting ready for the Fairy-Tale Fancy Dress Party. Hugo Hippo decided they would go as Princess and the Pea (Bella Bird would be the pea). Bella Bird wants to go as a mermaid and Hugo Hippo could be her rock because he is "gray and blobby". Hugo Hippo suggests going as a king and Bella Bird could be a jester. Bella Bird wants to go as Cinderella and Hugo Hippo could be her pumpkin.Suddenly they realize they are taking so long to decide that they might miss the party! They both decided they didn't want to go with each other. Then Bella Bird decided she could be a pea. Hugo Hippo decided Bella Bird could be the princess. They end up going as themselves and called their costumes "the happy ending".
What do You think about I Don't Want To Be A Pea! (2012)?
Just delightful. A fun story with wonderful theme of friendship.
—M005E
Friends argue and then make up. Charming and colorful.
—luther
