Arlo rolled

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 Arlene-all 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 (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.