School Library Journal (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

PreS-Gr 2 A perfectly round green pea who wears glasses shares a pod with his siblings Mary, Gary, Terry, and Sherry. Determined not to become part of a salad or soup, he drops to the ground and rolls away. He escapes a hungry slug, a stink bug with menacing pincers, and a crow with a sharp beak and talons. While avoiding an army of ants, he is kicked high in the air by a puppy digging a hole. "He sailed to a field/where he dropped with a PLOP,/rolled into a wall, and came to a stop." There Arlo sleeps beneath the ground as the seasons change. He awakes the next spring to find himself a vine, soaking up the sunshine against a stone wall. As time passes, he puts out blossoms, which are replaced by peapods. One of these is home to his children, Molly, Holly, Dolly, Paul, and Arleneall perfectly round peas wearing glasses. The lively, acrylic illustrations capture the adventurous pea's journey on full-color spreads, one of which, turned vertically, shows Arlo growing up the wall as his petals fall on the hapless head of a slug. The rhymed text is a pleasure to read, making it a good choice for storytime as well as individual reading. Children will enjoy this story with its satisfying ending. A good choice for spring reading. Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN

Kirkus Reviews

Arlo the pea wants to grow up to find out what he'll be. "At the end of the garden, / next to the berries, // lived Mary / and Gary / and Terry / and Sherry… / and Arlo." Arlo has no desire to end up in a salad or a stir-fry, so he drops to the ground and begins an epic roll. "Past cucumbers, lettuce, a red-spotted bug— / until he bumped into a hungry gray slug." The slug tries to eat him, but Arlo escapes and continues his roll past a hungry stink bug and out of the garden into the yard. In the yard, he evades a huge crow and a line of ants having a snack attack, eventually rolling up to a digging dog that flings Arlo through the air. Pooped, Arlo goes to sleep—and while he's asleep, he grows. One sunny day, he wakes up to discover he's a vine. He's so happy he blossoms and starts the process all over. Pearson's rhymed tale is not only good fun to read, but it's also a great introduction to the plant life cycle. Ebbeler's acrylic illustrations of bespectacled Arlo are a mix of full-bleed and panels, and with their vertiginous perspectives, they add extra bounce to this pea's promenade. Gardening goodness, just the ticket for a science storytime or cozy lap reading. (Picture book. 4-7)

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Bespectacled pea Arlo, preferring "to grow up and find out what I'll be" rather than getting turned into stir-fry or soup, rolls away from his pod and avoids garden inhabitants who'd like to eat him. He abruptly falls "fast asleep" until next spring, when he awakens as a pea vine. While the story line is forgettable, the personified fruits and vegetables add humor.