Sleeping Beauty [Hardcover]

Mercer Mayer (Author)

Book Description

The author/artist has embellished this folktale of the princess who sleeps under an evil spell for 100 years with some details of his own.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0027653404
• ISBN-13: 978-0027653403
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mercer Mayer has been writing and illustrating children's books for over 35 years. He began the popular Little Critter series nearly 30 years ago and titled the first book Just for You. His wife, Gina, has been co-writing the series since the early 1990s. The books in this series address the major issues of growing up through humorous storytelling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fairy tale made believable!, July 5, 2000

By 

Abigail Welborn (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sleeping Beauty (Hardcover)

It seems like every illustrator in the world has done a version of some fairy tales, especially "Sleeping Beauty." It offers great pictures, after all. But Mercer Mayer did something different... he added zest to the tale! He sets it in Celtic Britain, with lots of Celtic motifs added to the illustration. He also starts before the King got married, so we get a brief idea of who the King and Queen are who want a child so badly, and why the wicked fairy was not invited to the christening (and sort-of why it offended her). The Blue Faerie and the Star Faerie are your leading players in here -- once again, Sleeping Beauty herself is fairly passive (only in Robin McKinley's "Spindle's End" is she the active heroine) -- but the tale doesn't suffer. We even learn more about the prince, his relationship to the fairies and Sleeping Beauty, and why he had to love her "more than life" to wake her up. This book, along with beautiful illustrations (even if he does sometimes go overboard with the hair), is chock full of ideas, seeds... images and suggestions that say, "This should have been a novel." At any rate, you will appreciate the explanation behind the characters as well as the beautiful art.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Distinctly orginal version of a classically loved tale., January 25, 2001

By 

Nocturnal_Rapture "flossran" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sleeping Beauty (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful rendition of the classic tale. The author has creatively added more background to the characters. This gives each more depth and makes their interactions more complex. One inventive twist of the tale is that the prince is the son of the fairy who cast the curse. This sets up an intriguing juxtaposition between the two families and the fact that the princess is mortal while the prince is immortal. The author adds new themes to the story such as the sacrifices of love, the freedom forgiveness brings, and most importantly the eternal quality of love. The illustrations in this book are very dramatic and have an ethereal quality. The total work is captivating and memorable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avalon references?, December 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Sleeping Beauty (Hardcover)

First I must say that it would be hard for me to let go of this book as it is one of the most beautifully illustrated and retold Sleeping Beauty books I have had read.
The authors use of Celtic mythology and in my opinion is based on Avalon & The Lady of the Lake, Vivianne. Read it and tell me what you think?
Looking closly at the illustrations the Blue Faery wears the crown of the cresent moon Symbolizing a Priestess of the Goddess.
A must read!!!!!! Not short of Beautiful!