Snoring Beauty (Hardcover)

by Bruce Hale (Author), Howard Fine (Illustrator) "Long, long ago (about six hundred and two years ago last Friday, at 7:00 P.M., Fairy Standard Time, to be exact), the childless King Gluteus..." (more)
Key Phrases: Princess Marge, Prince Quince

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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 44 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015216314X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152163143
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 10.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #161,925 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

By	Amanda Snow (A Patchwork of Books) "Lover of ... (Holloman AFB, NM USA) - See all my reviews

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!

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading is fun!, January 11, 2009

By	Barbara H. Nigra "barb nigra,avid reader" (johnstown,new york) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Snoring Beauty
My six year old Grandaughter is reading far above her level and is into Chapter Books. It's great to "hand her a curve" such as Snoring Beauty.
She opened the Christmas package and laughed and said-that's not right.
The story is well written and requires some reading skill. It challenges her imagination and,I hope,gives her a hint of the wonders out there in books. Thank You.

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

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

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!