From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The creators of
Kate and the Beanstalk update "Sleeping Beauty" by casting Prince Bob in the lead. With that exception, this wittily told version adapts readily to the exchange of male and female roles. Prince Bob's birth is a joyous event, and the happy king and queen invite 12 Wise Women to bless their son: There are 13, "but since the queen had only enough good china to serve twelve, one had to be left out." After the uninvited guest declares that Bob will "prick his finger on a spindle" and die on his 18th birthday, another promises not death but instead a century-long nap. Despite his parents' attempts to banish all spinning wheels, Bob has "great curiosity and a taste for adventure," and gets lured to the dangerous instrument. Potter suspends the snoozing, sepia-tinted characters against an ethereal blue backdrop. Afterward, bachelorettes trade "rumors [of] a kind, clever, modest, and
very handsome prince," and become tangled in the formidable palace hedge. Only one princess, with "a taste for adventure" like Bob's, beats the thorns ("If this Bob is all they say, it will take more than some shrubbery to keep
me from meeting him"). The Osbornes' conversational prose lends itself to being read aloud, and Potter's mixed-media paintings suggest destined romance and humble magic between the well-matched couple. All ages.
(Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–In the vein of
Kate and the Beanstalk (2000) and
The Brave Little Seamstress (2002, both S & S), the Osbornes' fairly faithful adaptation of the Grimm Brothers version of Sleeping Beauty is written in a breezy, readable style, and most details of the original story have been included. However, in place of the heroic prince who awakens the beautiful sleeping princess, a kind, clever, modest, and very lovely princess awakens sleeping Prince Bob. Potter's folk-style characters are dressed in Elizabethan garb with details such as puffed sleeves, high lace collars, and ruffs. The use of brown tones on blue backgrounds to indicate the sleeping household provides an interesting contrast. The dry wit of the text may be beyond the grasp of the youngest listeners, but everyone can appreciate the simplicity of the story and the humor in the detailed, mixed-media illustrations. As a read-aloud, this tale is sure to be a hit.
–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
