Feast of Peas

February 17, 2020
Collaborators Sheth and Ebbeler offer a lyrical fable set in India about Jiva, a man who tends to his vegetable garden daily and holds a special fondness for his peas. “Plump peas, sweet peas,/ Lined-up-in-the-shell peas./ Peas to munch, peas to crunch,/ I want a feast of peas to lunch,” he sings while planting them. As they grow, so do Jiva’s measures of protection, from hoeing and watering to constructing a sugarcane scarecrow. Jiva and his friend Ruvji admire Jiva’s appetizing peas on harvest’s eve, but the next morning, they are gone! Perchance the work of rabbits, Ruvji offers. A rapid cycle of anticipation and disappointment repeats until the thief’s unavoidable unmasking and fairness restored through a feast: peas shelled and boiled, “steamed and simmered,” “fried and spiced.” Sheth spins a yarn about greed and forgiveness in well-paced, poetic narration accompanied by Ebbeler’s expressive acrylic illustrations. Ages 4–8.

February 1, 2020
Jiva, a hardworking gardener in India, eagerly anticipates his peas. "Plump peas, sweet peas, / Lined-up-in-the-shell peas. / Peas to munch, peas to crunch, / I want a feast of peas for lunch." He hoes, he waters, he weeds--and he waits. As his pea blossoms become pods, he builds a scarecrow from sugar cane stalks, an old dhoti, and a red turban to keep the birds away. Jiva's neighbor, Rujvi, is mighty interested in Jiva's pea harvest: "Jiva, some of your peas look plump," he says. Jiva assures Rujvi that he will pick them the next morning, but when he goes to do so, they are gone! Rujvi suggests the rabbits might have eaten the peas, so Jiva builds a fence. When the same thing happens again a few days later, Rujvi suggests that a ghost might have eaten the peas. Jiva is perplexed: Neither a scarecrow nor a fence will keep out a ghost. Jiva finally realizes he has been tricked by Rujvi and concocts an elaborate ruse to catch him in the act. After a mad dash through the village, Rujvi apologizes and makes a feast of peas--"peas with rice and spice, peas wrapped in mashed potato pockets, and peas swimming in soup"--for Jiva. Sheth's use of language (poetry and repetition) is a singular delight. Equally charming are Ebbeler's illustrations, which include lots of funny details, with exaggerated and elongated cartoon-style figures that make the most of the story's humor. Delicious! (Picture book. 4-8)

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March 1, 2020
Grades K-2 This dazzlingly illustrated new fairy tale, set in a timeless rural India, follows Jiva, who has a passion for growing and eating peas. We first see him kneeling in his garden, with views of women wading in rice paddies, a man driving an oxcart, and distant, rounded temples. Just before harvest, Jiva worries that birds might pluck his peas, so he sets up a turbaned, masked scarecrow. The peas disappear. Jiva's friend Ruvji says maybe the rabbits ate the peas, so Jiva builds a fence. The peas disappear again, and Ruvji suggests a ghost took them. Ebbeler's acrylic illustrations are shot through with light, depicting the two friends?one lean, one stout?as comic opposites, and the images burst with engaging movement. Finally, after Jiva chases the ghost into the harbor, the revelation comes that it is Ruvji who has been stealing the peas. The resolution, in which Jiva gives Ruvji the punishment of cooking a feast of peas, upends all expectations of reprisal?a nice lesson on friendship and forgiveness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)