Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

“Princess Prunella lived in a pink palace with her pinheaded parents,
... her three plump pussy cats ... and her puppydog, Pug.” And so it
goes. Kids love alliteration, and there’s lots of it here.

Kids will also enjoy seeing the pampered princess get her comeuppance.
A wise woman who has begged in vain for “a piece of leftover porridge,
a peppermint or a used prune” casts a spell. A purple peanut grows on
the princess’s nose and will stay there until she performs three good
deeds.

Maryann Kovalski’s hilarious illustrations are perfect for the tale.
The palace is modeled after the Palace of Versailles, but the people and
animals are pure Kovalski and the details deserve careful study. A
servant maid is stooping to scoop after the puppy, and the maid’s
apron reads, “I hate to cook.” The plump pussies cavort gleefully as
the princess endures her nose: “‘Serves you right for being a
selfish pig,’ they [say].”

The tale ends happily with a normal nose and a pinheaded prince for
Prunella, who performs her three good deeds impulsively: “for once she
was thinking about someone other than herself.” Princess Prunella and
the Purple Peanut is a delicious book for small children. Highly
recommended.