Princess

The author and illustrator of Philomene returns with a witty revision of Hans Christian Andersen's ``The Princess and the Pea.'' Shunning his mother's list of marriageable girls, an enterprising young prince brings home a shepherdess named Princess. His dubious mom tests the girl's bona fides with the old pea-under-the-mattress trick. Come morning, Princess is indeed black-and-blue, but not for the reason her delighted mother-in-law-to-be thinks: it turns out the girl simply fell out of bed during the night. The text, translated from the French, is jolly but unevenly paced, with perhaps too leisurely a buildup to Princess's entrance. The book's great charm lies in animated watercolors, with their Thurberesque ink lines. In typical Wilsdorf fashion, delectable details abound, from the endpapers dotted with canned peas to the palace pet (a cheerful winged gremlin), to a wee mouse reading a book in a castle cranny. A delightful romp. Ages 4-up. (May)