Snoring Beauty [Hardcover]

Bruce Hale (Author), Howard Fine (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty: A handsome prince rescues a beautiful princess from a wicked fairy's terrible sleeping spell.

This story is just like the original. Except for the sarcastic frog narrator, the garlic-scented fairy, and--oh yeah--the princess in this book not only sleeps and snores . . . she's also been turned into a hot-pink and purple dragon!

Certain to charm and delight fairy tale fans across the land, this raucous retelling is anything but a snoozer.       

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—Princess Marge, daughter of King Gluteus and Queen Esophagus, who is nearly doomed by an irate fairy to homicide by a pie wagon, has the harsh sentence modified by another ("half-deaf") fairy, Tintinnitus. The princess will become a sleeping dragon and will "one day" be awakened by "a quince." Although all pies (and pie wagons) are banned by the king, the "kind and beautiful, sweet and clever" princess has her foot run over by a suspicious but unrecognized pie wagon on her 16th birthday and becomes a loudly snoring dragon. You know the rest! Hale's sassy, tongue-in-cheek tale may sound like just another silly "Sleeping Beauty" rewrite. However, enriched by Fine's large, double-page watercolor paintings with their whimsical human visages, distinctive fairies, and frog courtiers; the inimitable sleeping dragon princess; a repetitive refrain ("Yada, yada, hippity-hop"); and those cacophonous snores, this fantastic story is a delightful treat that begs to be read aloud.—Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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From Booklist

As in Mary Osborne’s Sleeping Bobby (2005), this raucous offering twists “Sleeping Beauty” into something gleefully new. A green frog, in feathered hat and cape, narrates the tale in casual language that is filled with kid-appealing, gross-out silliness, which begins with the names of the royal family:  King Gluteus, Queen Esophagus, and their beautiful baby girl, Princess Margarine. The slapstick continues when a hard-of-hearing fairy issues a series of prophesies: the princess will be transformed into a sleeping dragon, and only a quince (not a prince) can awaken her. Enlivened with puns and sound effects, the text will read easily to a crowd. More laughs will come from the full-page pencil-and-watercolor pictures, which show a motley crew of fairies (the tooth fairy is particularly distinctive in pink wings, tattoos, and a five-o’clock shadow) and then the princess as a scaly, pink dragon, whose castle-rattling snores are spelled out in bright purple capital letters. Lively fun that closes with a fractured but still happily fairy-tale ending. Preschool-Grade 2. --Gillian Engberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 44 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015216314X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152163143
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 11.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edgar-nominated author Bruce Hale is passionate about inspiring reluctant readers to read. He has written or illustrated more than 25 seriously funny books for children, including the popular Chet Gecko Mysteries series and the comics-novel hybrid, Underwhere, as well as picture books like "Snoring Beauty" and "Moki and the Magic Surfboard."

An actor and Fulbright Scholar in Storytelling, Bruce is in demand as a speaker, having presented at conferences, universities, and schools across North America - from the Maui Writers Conference to the Surrey International Writers Conference in British Columbia. His acting resume includes regional commercials, theater, and an independent film, The Ride. Bruce's book, "The Malted Falcon," was an Edgar Award Finalist. "Murder, My Tweet" won the Little D Award for Humor Writing.

A little-known fact: Bruce loves jazz, and sings with an a cappella group called VocalPoint in Santa Barbara

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Snoring Beauty, February 9, 2009

By 

SZAA "Lover of All Things Written" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Snoring Beauty (Hardcover)

Snoring Beauty, written by Bruce Hale and illustrated by Howard Fine, is a lovely retelling of Sleeping Beauty, complete with a princess turned into a hot pink and purple dragon and a garlic smelling fairy sent to make sure the princess doesn't ever get her prince.

Beginning just as the traditional fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty does, Snoring Beauty features a royal family that has a baby and throws a party for blessing her. Instead of witch crashing the party h0wever, we find Beebo, the garlic smelling fairy, that proceeds to place a curse on the child. Wanting a good life for his baby girl, the King asks a good fairy to place a different type of curse on her, turning her into a sleeping, very loudly snoring, dragon on her sixteenth birthday.

She does indeed turn into a dragon on her birthday, a beautiful hot pink and purple dragon. Unfortunately, everyone in the town is forced to deal with her terrible snoring, resulting in the king making a proclamation to the town. The one man that can break the curse on his daughter and awaken her, will receive her hand in marriage.

And on and on the story goes. It's really a very cute retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and the illustrations are just fantastic. This would be a great home read aloud (a bit long for story times) and would be perfect for a unit on fairy tale retellings. Very cute overall!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a favorite!, November 25, 2008

By 

Amber Pugh (Kansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snoring Beauty (Hardcover)

My kids and I LOVED this book. The writting and the pictures were so funny! My three year old has begged me to buy this book for her ever since we took it back to the library. It is a new twist on the fairytale style. We will give this book to all our friends!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Snoring Beauty, November 11, 2008

By 

Margaret A. Savoy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snoring Beauty (Hardcover)

What an adventure! The vocabulary and subtle remarks make it fun for the adult reader as well. The artwork draws the eye to such elaborate, joyful characters. My grandkids and I have enjoyed many hours of storytime and they all proclaim it the BEST READ in a long time.