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Mabel O’Leary Put Peas in Her Eary
by Mary Delaney
(Check Catalog)

Hoping to avoid eating her peas because she can't leave the dinner table until she does, Mabel puts them in her ears and discovers that her impaired hearing leads to other problems.

SLJ Reviews 2006 March

PreS-Gr 2 -Told that she can't leave the tableuntil every pea has been chewed, Mabel takes drastic action and hides the peas in a most unadvisable spot. Her plan, however resourceful, has a major flaw: peas in the ear make it tricky to hear.Words seem confusing, their meanings amusing, ideas become hard to convey. The ensuing pea-inflicted hearing loss leads to a comedy of errors as the child spends the day misinterpreting her mother's increasingly concerned requests. Some of the misunderstandings are harmless: when Mom says Stop! Mabel obligingly begins to hop.

It's potentially more dangerous when Mom asks Mabel to hold still and she hears get out my old drill. It is only when she climbs into bed that night that her deception is uncovered, much to her mother's surprise. Although there is no scene of parental disapproval, Mabel still concludes that her experiment was perhaps not a plan worth repeating. Yet while sitting in her closet surrounded by bits of broccoli, she suggests that shoes are ideal/when used to conceal/a meal that no one likes eating!

A careful look at the busy watercolor illustrations will reveal amusing pea references (even Mabel's tights have green polka dots). And although some practice may be needed to get the rhythm and rhymes articulated correctly, this is an engaging cautionary tale, and the extreme silliness of the story makes it a fun choice for reading aloud.-Piper L. Nyman, formerly at Fairfield Civic Center Library, CA