Friday, June 22, 2012

Picture Book #12 The Pea Blossom



Author: Amy Lowry Poole
Title: The Pea Blossom
Illustrator: Amy Lowry Poole
Readability: 2.2
Genre: Picture Book
Subgenre: Fantasy

Characters: Five peas, A boy, A girl and her mother.
Theme: Everything happens for a reason and everyone has their own destiny.
Award(s) date of publication: 2005
Publisher: Holiday House, Inc.
ISBN: 0-8234-1864-2
Summary:
The Pea Blossom is an Eastern folktale retold by Amy Lowry Poole. This story is set in Beijing, China and was written and illustrated on rice paper. There were five peas inside a shell that thought the world was green because that was all they knew. As the seasons changed the peas began to grow and would talk about what each one would do, all except the fifth pea. One day as the pea shell began to turn yellow it was ripped open by a boy. He took the first pea and put it in his pea shooter and shot it in the air, he was finally going to the sun until it dropped in the gutter and was eaten by a pigeon. The second pea was tossed in a well and swallowed by a frog. The third and fourth peas were put in rice for the emperor. The fifth pea flew into the sky and landed on a window sill. Little did the fifth pea know that he landed on a window sill of a poor woman with a very sick little girl.  As winter came the pea went to sleep under moss and leaves. The mother feared that the daughter would die soon and moved her bed away from the window. Once spring arrived the little girl, who was still weak, spouted the green tendrils from the pea plant. The little girl decided that the pea would start her own garden. As the pea began to grow so did the little girls strength and faith. A month later the girl was able to sit up as the plant began to blossom with blue flowers. As the plant blossom small pea shells formed and the girl became healthy again. The fifth and smallest pea was happy and content and knew that what was meant to happen.
Use in the classroom:
I loved the moral of this story! Everyone has their own planned for the life and do not be anxious for anything. Teachers could have students write on those topics. They could write a continuation story on the other peas. Teachers could even use this story during the time plant life is being taught in Science and student could grow their own peas and write a story where the peas will go after they are grown.

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