Rosebud is a little girl who likes everything "just so"--her outfits, her room, her meals, etc. When presented with a dinner plate whose meal components are decidedly not "just so"--she pushes it all away, and, right off the table. Fuming and feeling misunderstood, she is sent to her room where she throws an enormous tantrum. Now, nothing is just so and everything is not right. After securing her promise to stop fussing, her parents help her get things back in good order, and the peas and carrots turn out to be really quite delicious. Then, after her father reads her the story of "The Princess and the Pea", Rosebud wants to be a good girl and go to sleep but her bed feels awful and lumpy and just not right. Is it the return of Princess Fussy? No! There is in fact a misplaced marble under her mattress that would make sleeping unbearable for any "real princess"--like Rosebud.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Praise for Travis Foster's illustrations in What's New at the Zoo?:
*"Foster's ingenious illustrations feature antic cartoonish animals in an explosion of colors ...."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred

"The cartoon illustrations really bring the silliness to life."
--School Library Journal

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Harriet Ziefert has worn many hats and handles in her long and distinguished career(s) as an educator, book packager, author, and founding publisher of Blue Apple Books. She modeled this story's princess-y Rosebud character after her two granddaughters. And though she admits that, like Rosebud, she also needs certain things to be "just so," she likes carrots and peas just fine--though not under her mattress. The author lives in South Orange, New Jersey.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page