The Penguin and the Pea

by Janet Perlman

Janet Perlman retells this Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale from the perspective of penguins. Perlman’s version maintains the structure of the original story, but adds some creative details, including a squinty-eyed, lip-pursing and suspicious penguin queen, who places a cabbage under a flimsy mattress for the princess to sleep on. This makes fun of the original story’s celebration of the princess’s delicate physical sensitivity. Perlman’s illustration style, familiar from her work with the National Film Board of Canada, lends comical incongruity to this fractured fairy tale. The courting penguin couple are seen enjoying chess, shadow puppets, music and dancing. Smaller details such as penguin chess pieces make the tale even more whimsical, and penguin-related puns such as “rainflippers” and “lived flappily ever after” will be appreciated by young children.