The Sleeping Beauty (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "A LONG TIME AGO there lived a King and a Queen who had no children, and this grieved them more than can be imagined..." (more)
Key Phrases: Briar Rose

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The story of the beautiful princess who sleeps for a hundred years has captured the imaginations of children for an even longer period of time. How could everyone in a castle--even the flies on the walls--sleep for a century and then wake up? This magical, beautifully illustrated tale begins when the king excludes the most difficult fairy of the kingdom from a feast celebrating the birth of his beautiful daughter Briar Rose. Furious, the fairy storms in and curses the baby, pronouncing that on her fifteenth birthday she will be pricked by a distaff (from a spinning wheel) and fall down dead. The youngest fairy softens the curse to a century-long sleep. Despite the fact that the king burns all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, 15-year-old Briar Rose finds herself in the tower where the evil fairy and her fate await her. The drama of the spell unfurls as she and the other inhabitants of the castle fall instantly asleep, from courtiers to kitchen maids. Thorny briars--moodily captured by Trina Schart Hyman's masterful paintbrush--grow up around the castle. Hyman depicts those who died attempting to break through the maze of thorns to reach the legendary sleeping beauty in a nightmarish illustration. But goodness and true love prevail when the perfect prince does finally find his way through the thick vines.

Hyman won a Caldecott Medal for her work in Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, and her version of The Sleeping Beauty makes us believe in the magic of the spell. The scenes inside the castle are alive with color and movement and rich with details that children will devour eagerly. Moods and expressions are rendered exquisitely, especially those of the wild, red-haired beauty Briar Rose. This wonderful read-aloud classic is one of Hyman's best. (Ages 5 to 9) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Also celebrating an anniversaryAits 30thAis Whose Mouse Are You? by Robert Kraus, illus. by Jose Aruego. Minimalist art and memorable text are more than the sum of its parts: "Whose mouse are you?/ Nobody's mouse./ Where is your mother?/ Inside a cat," it begins forlornly, but reverses into a joyful ending, with the mouse reuniting his far-flung family and gaining a new brother. (S&S, $17 40p ages 3-7 ISBN 0-689-84052-7; Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.; 1st edition (October 30, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316387029
• ISBN-13: 978-0316387026
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #274,184 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #15 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( H ) > Hyman, Trina Schart
  #15 in	Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Fairy Tales & Folk Tales > Sleeping Beauty

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Illustrations, April 29, 2001

By	Leah S. Smith "[e-mail]" (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This book tells the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty with magnificent language, accompanied by spectacular illustrations. As in the original, Sleeping Beauty's mother is told that her dream of having a child would finally come true and that she would have a baby girl. The Queen did have the baby girl and her husband was so pleased he threw the biggest and grandest birthday party. He invited all but one person and not inviting her was the result in a terrible spell cast upon his daughter, Briar Rose. The spell was to put her to sleep on her 15th birthday, in which it did, after she touched the spinning wheel. Only a handsome man could wake her from the spell, and many years later that is what one man did. By kissing her, she returned to life and brought the whole castle life back with her. What catches the reader's attention in this particular book is the depth and colors of the illustrations. The position of the text also is very relevant in this story. Each picture is extremely detailed and shows that a great amount of thought was put into completing each page. It is very unique that the placement of the words on each page is located in some form of an opening. The text is placed in open skies, doorways, and blank walls on each page. In the beginning of the book, when the tone is darker, opening words are placed in a smaller and darker area; when Sleeping Beauty is awoken, the tone is much livelier. An example of this transition is relevant on the first two pages of the book, from the time when you are told the Queen could not have children to the time she has given birth to a baby girl. The first picture has dark colors and the trees are scary, close together and representative of a dark tone. With a turn of the page the tone takes a great positive change with open skies, doves, and vibrant colors. The text on both pages is in the middle of the darkness and then in the middle of a window. The position of the text and the illustrations are key factors in determining the over all tone and mood of the story. This book tells such an amazing story with the pictures that words are not even necessary. Children can read this book and better understand because of the colors and detail that each picture possesses. The doves that are used on the page of the birth of Briar Rose and the end of the book symbolize her life and what joy she lived. The colors in general are also used a symbol for joy and sadness, with such powerful colors meaning and representing happy times.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite versions, October 28, 2000

By	Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Sleeping Beauty: Silver Anniversary Edition (Paperback)

Hyman is a wonderful illustrator and her version of Sleeping Beauty is beautiful. It is one of the best versions since Edmund Dulac's classic illustrations. In fact, I don't have many favorite versions that have been published in the last fifty years. This is the version of Sleeping Beauty that I prefer to keep on my shelf for reading to children. The characters appear real and magical all at once. Hyman is a Caldecott award winning illustrator. This book is another example of why she is so honored.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Illustrations, August 15, 2004

By	Amanda - See all my reviews

I had never heard of Trina Schart Hyman, let alone seen any of her illustrations as a child. When I saw the cover of this book however I was just drawn right in, there was no resisting her spell. Based on the traditional Grimms telling of the fairy tale there's nothing new in the plot, the illustrations is what really makes this special though is the illustrations, they're a little dark, but you can tell hours of painstaking detail was put into each picture. So if for no other reason buy this for the illustrations and nothing else, I promise it'll elicit hours of enjoyment looking through each one and seeing a new detail every time you look at each picture.