Sleeping Beauty

There's a great deal more to Mercer Mayer's version of "Sleeping Beauty" than any other retelling I've encountered, but overall, I found the additions engaging and interesting. I also enjoyed the Saxon/Viking feel to the illustrations: the Viking era is one of my favorite time periods, and I loved imagining "Sleeping Beauty" taking place within that time period and culture.

This is one of my very favorite picture book versions of "Sleeping Beauty." I was captivated by it as a child. I love the added element of the prince being the evil fairy's son, it makes the story so much more cyclical and profound. The image of the evil fairy standing in the doorway before a blood red moon has stayed with me since childhood.

Another beautifully illustrated fairytale from Mercer Mayer. In this version, the artwork takes on Celtic themes, which I found to be an interesting and complementary style to the story. Most versions that I have seen of the Sleeping Beauty legend take place in an English or blandly non-national setting, but the Celtic motifs still work because the story itself doesn't seem to belong to one nationality or another. The characters are often nameless (as they are in this version), and even the supernatural beings are very general. I definitely wouldn't have thought to put this story in a Celtic setting, but Mayer's beautiful illustrations prove this to be a success!

This has to be the most unique, take on sleeping Beauty, while still staying true to the story. And the illustrations are fantastic. Part of it makes me think at Stardust, while the other brings Disney to mind. But this is entirely it’s own lovely and spectacular work.

Summary: "The Sleeping Beauty" is about a king and queen who offended the Blue Faerie on the day of their wedding feast. As a result, the Blue Faerie cursed the queen to never be able to have a child. However, the Star Faerie modified the curse but only allowing the king and queen to have a child when a silver oil appears. Soon, the silver owl appears and the queen began to feed and care for the bird but the king became jealous of the care the queen showed it, and had the bird killed. The king and queen soon have a child but because the king killed the bird, the Blue Faerie gave the child the gift of death. However, the Star Faerie gave the child a gift to not die but fall asleep until someone who loves her more than life, kisses her. show more On the child's seventeenth birthday, she pricked her finger on a spindle and fell asleep. Therefore, the Star Faerie put everyone in the castle under a spell to sleep so when the child awakes, she would not be alone. Also, the faerie created a huge hedge to protect the castle and put a dwarf and ogre to stand watch. A hundred years later, the Blue Faerie's son heard about Sleeping Beauty and went on a quest to find her. He succeeds and Sleeping Beauty and the rest of the castle awakens. However, during the wedding feast, the Blue Faerie arrives, furious. She tries to curse Sleeping Beauty's household but the curse will affect her son because he is bound to the family by marriage. As a result, the Blue Faerie broke a faerie rule, which made he reap the curse she tried to give to everyone. In the end, Sleeping Beauty and the Prince lived happily ever after.

Review: In my opinion, "Sleeping Beauty" was a well written story. The book gave great details that helped me envision the story and the feelings of the characters. I have always heard stories of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, but I felt like this book was different variation that still kept the originality. The central message of the story is love conquers all. In the book, the Blue Faerie's curse made Sleeping Beauty prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep sleep, in which she could only be awaken from a kiss from someone who loved her more than life. The prince went through many obstacles on his journey to Sleeping Beauty, but he never gave up because he loved her. Also, the curse on Sleeping Beauty was lifted due to the love the Prince showed to Sleeping Beauty. Overall, love created a happy ending for Sleeping Beauty and the castle. show less

Mayer's illustrations make this book an absolute delight.

SUMMARY
A king and queen are cursed after the Blue Faerie receives a fake gold goblet. After conquering the curse, they are cursed yet again after offending the Blue Faerie. Their daughter falls into a deep sleep until someone who loves her more than life itself awakes her. The kingdom is put to sleep for hundreds of years. The son of the Blue Faerie searches for Sleeping Beauty and wakes her. They plan to marry each other. The Blue Faerie is again offended because she was not invited to the wedding. When she attempts to cast another curse, it backfires and turns to her. Sleeping Beauty and her king are able to live happily ever after.

REVIEW
When I began reading, I didn't expect the Blue Faerie's son to be the one that would rescue show more Sleeping Beauty. I liked that there was a sort of poetry included in the book with the spells. Readers are exposed to stanzas and rhyming when they say spells like, "My blessing here can never be, For I shall take my son with me. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, All mortals die and so they must. A curse I place upon this spot: All those with mortal blood shall rot." show less