Book Review - 'The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Princess and the Pea' by Abie Longstaff (Writer), Lauren Beard (Illustrator)

I finally got my final 'The Fairytale Hairdresser' book to review, and what do you know, it's cute.

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Princess and the Pea' manages to make one of the most bizarre, baffling, bland, pointless, farcical, and possibly, theoretically satirical fairy tales ever, a fun little read. In this version of Hans Christian Andersen's tiny tale, the "princess", who is not actually a princess but a globetrotting explorer and chef, comes into Kittie Lacey's salon, Kittie's Cuts, for shelter from a storm. Her name is Penelope, and she becomes a chef to the prince, Peter, and his mad, "magic pea" obsessed mother, for the Royal Food Festival - this is how the couple meet and fall in love, through their shared love of food.

Food is a major theme in the story; it is not just about a pea.

Also there's a wicked witch who wants to marry the prince. She is thwarted by Kittie way too quickly and easily. She is not a threat at all. She is only included for there to be an antagonist in this adaptation of a really, really stupid (but maybe insidiously brilliant?) one-page fairy tale that somehow gets revisited and adapted over and over again to this day.

(Additional detail: the generic wicked witch has a pentagram pendant necklace. What?!)

Still, this adaptation is cute, and Penelope has a personality and big ambitions outside of marrying a prince as her "happily ever after".

However, once again we have the recurring random-royal-families-everywhere-in-Fairyland-of-nowhere-in-particular bit in 'The Fairytale Hairdresser' series, that doesn't come across as creative or a worldbuilding detail, but simply lazy. Prince Peter's mother is only called "the Queen". She kind of resembles a modern British woman of royalty, or a woman in Parliament, and as already mentioned, she is obsessed with a "magic pea" she says she received from fairies at her son's birth, that will allegedly help her find the right girl/princess for him by stuffing it under cushions on a chair. So, just like something a woman of the British Royal family, or in Parliament, would believe in and carry out, then.

This queen's nonsense sounds like something cooked up (pun intended) in her own silly, frazzled, delusional mind, and an unsure, sceptical Kittie seems to agree. Self-awareness of the original tale's out-there premise is the only way it can be adapted, really, and it is appreciated.

I like the detail of the Queen wearing all green (including green eyeshadow), and a necklace that looks like a strong of peas, and earrings that look like peas. So she is seriously pea-brained. Nice touch.

This instalment also shows Kittie exhausted from spending all day doing princesses' hair (as they sit on the chair with the cushions with the pea underneath), as Penelope is tired from cooking and baking in the Queen's palace for the Royal Food Festival. Kittie is only human, after all. No matter what, she is willing to go above and beyond for anyone needing her help, whether it be styling hair and outfits, going on adventures, or matchmaking. Even if helping others involves indulging the whims of a queen in need of counselling.

At least in this adaptation of 'The Princess and the Pea', the girl is clearly not a princess, so there's nothing of that "princesses are delicate and overly sensitive and therefore this somehow makes them fit to rule as queens" theme present. No - Penelope wants to explore outside Fairyland, and cook different kinds of food. On her honeymoon, she wants to travel the world, including the Land of Food, which has places with names like "Pesto Palace", "Cookie Island", Banana Beach", "Candyfloss Forest", "Jelly and Custard Castle", "Spaghetti Junction" and "Balti Bayou".

Other nifty details: Peter also has a green theme to him, and he has a green stripe in his hair. He has a pet rabbit. His garden is full of giant vegetables; a giant pumpkin is one of them, that has mice living in it (a certain fairy godmother would love it). Kittie styles food into each fairy tale characters' hair; like a banana for Mr Gingerbread Man's quiff, fish and chips on the Little Mermaid Coral's head, and a bowl of porridge on Goldilocks's head (I think it's just a headband)! Kittie can be very creative, but there are rare displays of laziness here. Bella and Beau's painting collage of Kittie has found a home on a wall in her salon.

There's an Easter and vegetable theme to the book, too, despite it being set in the summer. There are rabbits, squirrels, and foxes.

Cameos include: Bella and Beau (Beauty and the Beast), Snow White, Alice, Red Riding Hood, Rose (Sleeping Beauty) and Florian, Dr Charming, a giant, unicorns, the Dish running away with the Spoon (a small detail, spotted in a mirror, along with the cow jumping over the moon), the Sugar Plum Fairy, Puss in Boots, Humpty Dumpty (of course!), and much, much more.

Well, that's it. My final 'The Fairytale Hairdresser' review. What a cute, sweet, fun, funny, silly little series, by Abie Longstaff and Lauren Beard. It is still for little kids - it isn't too clever, subversive, revolutionary or exciting - but for what these picture books are, they're good and timeless.

Kittie Lacey - the pink-and-purple-haired, blue-topped, belted, white-booted girl herself - is a nice, wonderful protagonist, so kind, helpful, brave, and quick-thinking. She is far more than a hairdresser, though as the series proves, that is a noble profession in of itself, for a fairy tale hero to have. She doesn't need to be a princess or a fairy or any other magical or "important" role in society - she is an ordinary human with talents and skills, plus determination and a kind heart, and those qualities are what make her a hero in all these tales.

Kittie has as many ordinary, obtainable, flexible and accomplished roles and multitasking skills as Barbie. She is an amazing, admirable role model for all people, of all ages.

Here are links to my reviews of the rest of the series for more, in chronological order of publication (not in the order I read and reviewed them):


'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Rapunzel'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Cinderella'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Sleeping Beauty'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Snow White'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Father Christmas'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Little Mermaid'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Sugar Plum Fairy'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Beauty and the Beast'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Aladdin'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Princess and the Frog'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Thumbelina'

'The Fairytale Hairdresser and Red Riding Hood'


To send off:

Happy, hopeful 2025, everyone. Keep thinking, "What would Kittie the Fairytale Hairdresser do?" and what the world would be like if there were more people like her. You can make it happen. You have the power. You have the heart. You have the kindness, courage and self-belief to achieve anything.

You will be okay.

Take care.

Final Score: 3.5/5