little pea.

who doesn't love talking veggies? especially when they're as cute as this little family of peas!

this little book is completely lovable, and every kid i've seen it read to (or read to myself) has LOVED it. a sweet little pea loves rolling down hills, spoon-flying, and cuddling with his mama. however, he hates dinner, but LOVES dessert. the super-cute twist falls when the reader realizes his dinner is candy, and dessert is spinach and vegetables.

the first in a set of three books, published by chronicle books, written by amy krouse rosenthal, and illustrated by jen corace. each book among the three identify with a traditional story-line, with a crazy twist. 'little hoot' is a baby owl that likes to sleep at night (much to the dismay of his parents), 'little oink' is a little piggy that likes things neat and tidy, and of course, 'little pea' is a baby pea who'd much rather eat spinach than pastries. on top of the great stories, the illustrations are simple and perfectly perfect!

funny story ... while attending an SCBWI conference a couple years ago, i had the, er ... 'pleasure' of meeting one of 'little pea's' editors at chronicle books. before i even knew what 'little pea' was, i had made up my mind that this editor was WAY harsh. i had always pictured children's book editors in a certain way, and i can tell you right now ... she was NOT it.

and of course, my manuscript critique was one-on-one with her ... and i pretty much left that conference and cried. nothing like a good blow to the ego to finish off your day. but, after meeting with her, i started to do a little research (or a LOT). and realized there's a reason she was giving so much 'constructive' criticism ... i needed it, and so did my manuscript. after analyzing and reading the other books she'd been a part of, i also realized those are exactly the type of books i want to write.

i don't have some fabulous story-ending where i learned so much from being rejected that i fixed everything and my manuscript was published (at least not yet)! but i am now able to stand back and take an honest look at what i write, and not throw things and cry every time something needs to be changed. so, thanks to constructive criticism ... and here's to accepting it gracefully and actually learning from it!

p.s. if anyone has an in with a children's book publisher ...