Status
Available
Local notes
398.2 Sle
Collection
Genres
Publication
SeaStar Books / Chronicle Books (2002), Hardcover, 32 pages. $15.95.
Description
A beautiful and beloved princess, cursed by the one fairy who was not invited to her christening, pricks her finger on her sixteenth birthday and falls asleep for one hundred years.
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
32 p.; 11.31 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member Treeseed
I am sure it will come as no surprise that K.Y. Craft has created another breath-takingly beautiful picture book. This retelling of the story of Sleeping Beauty, Princess Aurora or Brair Rose by Mahlon F. Craft, the artist's husband, is romantic and magical, with courtly language and all the drama
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one expects from this marvelous old tale. It is a delightful read. The illustrations truly make the book the treasure that it is and include lovely illuminated text as well as full page and double page spreads throughout. Craft's characteristic eye for detail is everywhere evident as is her flair for decorative flora and fauna, costumes, jewelry and interiors. The angry 13th fairy, snubbed without an invitation to the princess's christening who curses the child is painted with a grand touch of maleficence while the 12th fairy whose magical gift saves the baby's life is uncanny and sparkly with a golden power that eminates from the illustrations. The landscapes have a marvelous Renaissance feel and are brooding and deep and magically enhance the story with a certain wildness. A beautiful Alsatian dog with a fairy collar of light around his neck is a secret guardian in several pictures and I suspect this dog may be a very familair friend to the author and illustrator. Show Less
LibraryThing member meallen1
This book is a fairy tale. It is the classic story of sleeping beauty where a young girl falls in love with a prince. An evil witch made her fall asleep. The prince went looking for her and once he defeated the witch and found her, he kissed her and then she woke up. The reading level is first
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grade and the curricular connection is a fairy tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member kdangleis
Sleeping Beauty retold by Mahlon F. Craft and Illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft, is the enchanted love story that stands the test of time. This fairy tale is beautifully illustrated with oil over watercolors paintings. Rich texture, colors and details are featured on each page. The pictures are so
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unique because of their attention to detail. The classic enchantment provides readers with fairies, a spell that can only be broken by true love, “a chariot of fire drawn by dragons”, the transformation of characters from one likeness to another, and of course the happy ending! When a king and queen have a baby girl, the celebration begins. There are 12 fairies invited, but the king purposely overlooks the 13th fairy because he doesn’t have enough gold place settings- a requirement when fairies are invited. Angrily, she shows up to the christening celebration in the middle of the gift giving. The old fairy dooms Aurora on her 16th birthday by saying she’ll prick her finger on a thorn and she will die. The last fairy to bestow her gift, promises the king and queen Aurora will not die, just fall into a deep sleep. After her 16th birthday and the pricking of her finger, Aurora sleeps for 100 years until a prince from a far off land is the only successful person to gain access to the castle and release Aurora from her spell. Show Less
LibraryThing member princessofthesea
Subject Area: Language Arts.
Age; Intermediate
Genre: Fairytale
Critique: This book is an example of a fairytale because the author retells a simple narrative that is of folk origin. There are magical creatures (fairies, dragons, etc.) Although it is written for children, the narrative is
Plot: The author creates a chronological plot that is person against person (Aurora and the evil fairy) and person against nature (prince and circumstances preventing his way to the castle.) I thought that the conflict of the plot was very weak. The author did not create a climatic event that involved a character overcoming some great trial. Instead, the prince practically waltzed into the castle and awakened Aurora. There was no sense of suspense, or if there was, it was anticlimactic.
Age; Intermediate
Genre: Fairytale
Critique: This book is an example of a fairytale because the author retells a simple narrative that is of folk origin. There are magical creatures (fairies, dragons, etc.) Although it is written for children, the narrative is
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sophisticated with improbable events, such as a spell of sleep being cast over the entire castle and a princess pricking her finger on a spinning wheel and falling into a long-lasting slumber. Plot: The author creates a chronological plot that is person against person (Aurora and the evil fairy) and person against nature (prince and circumstances preventing his way to the castle.) I thought that the conflict of the plot was very weak. The author did not create a climatic event that involved a character overcoming some great trial. Instead, the prince practically waltzed into the castle and awakened Aurora. There was no sense of suspense, or if there was, it was anticlimactic.
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LibraryThing member Elizabeth1977
This is a beautiful rendition of the traditional story of "Sleeping Beauty." The illustrations are beautiful and very artistic.
LibraryThing member sandysuson
Summary- The story about Sleeping Beauty was about a King and Queen that longed for a baby. One day the Queen gave birth to princess Aurora. All the fairy's were giving out gifts, but the thirteenth fairy said when she turned sixteen she would prick her finger on a spindle and die. She fell into a
Personal reacation- I believe I've read all the classic fairy tales to my children when they were little. Everytime I read to them they always wanted me to read it again.
Extension I- Have the students act out the story line to see if they understood Sleeping Beauty.
Extension II- Give the students a coloring sheet of Sleeping Beauty.
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deep sleep and did not die. When her prince kissed her she awoke out of her sleep. And they lived happily ever after.Personal reacation- I believe I've read all the classic fairy tales to my children when they were little. Everytime I read to them they always wanted me to read it again.
Extension I- Have the students act out the story line to see if they understood Sleeping Beauty.
Extension II- Give the students a coloring sheet of Sleeping Beauty.
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LibraryThing member McEvilla
Briar Rose was a beautiful princess. She had a cruse that was casted upon her because one of the faries wasn't invited to the gathering. When the king and queen went out to town Briar Rose went out down the dusty hall where the evil fairy was. Once Briar Rose touched it sewing kit everyone fell
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asleep instantly. The village and everyone fell asleep. A prince wanted to see the beautiful princess so he came to her rescue. Once the prince touched the sleeping beauty she and everyone else in the village awoken. Show Less
LibraryThing member KENJOH
The librarian at the school where I teach suggested this book to me. She had a large collection by the illustrator of these books. After reading through the pages I understood why. The pictures looked real. It made this fairy tale no longer a story but a living breathing work. It use various
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colors, shading, layers, and details to make the story captivating. Sleeping Beauty is by far my least favorite fairy tale but after reading this take on it my feeling changed. If we were discussing story telling I would pull several different renditions of Sleeping Beauty for students to compare and contrast. Show Less
LibraryThing member kmunsey
Mahlon Craft's enhanced version of Sleeping Beauty affords wide scope for the artist's romanticism. In a new episode at the outset, for example, the queen meets a frog that predicts the birth of her daughter; in the facing art, the queen, dressed in a diaphanous white gown, languidly loosens her
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hair ribbon, while the frog, brought forward by cunning attention to light and detail, waits to speak to her. The backdrop is a dark forest, and the effect is properly otherworldly. Farther on, when the king and queen discover the evil fairy's handiwork, the good fairy comes to ease their grief; Craft portrays the fairy descending from gilded clouds, driving a chariot drawn by dragons. The fairies are transparent, like spirits; the evil fairy is a gothic horror in black draperies. Aurora is ethereally lovely, the landscapes magnificent and the palace splendid. Families aiming to assemble a library of classic fairy tales may well settle on this as the definitive Sleeping Beauty Show Less
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Having explored the world of Greek mythology in Cupid and Psyche, Pegasus, and King Midas and the Golden Touch, the marvelously talented Kinuko Craft has more recently turned her attention to the world of classic European fairy-tales, among them The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Cinderella. In this
Although the tale of the sleeping beauty holds interest for me as a student of the folktale and its transmuted cousin, the fairy-tale, I have never been able to truly take it to heart. The idea of an enchanted sleep may have appealed to my childish imagination, but the complete passivity of the heroine always prevented me from truly empathizing with her. Whatever one thinks of Cinderella's desire to attend the ball, the reader can at least sympathize with her mistreatment at the hands of her step-family. Beauty, of Beauty and the Beast fame, can be admired, both for the sense of honor that compels her to acknowledge that her father's bargain must be kept, and for the devotion that leads her to take her father's place at the Beast's palace. Princess Aurora, on the other hand, is simply unlucky enough to be the target of a vengeful fairy's curse, and faces no personal and/or moral challenges that might elicit a sense of fellow-feeling from the reader.
This is not to say that Sleeping Beauty holds no appeal whatsoever, as it can still be enjoyed by on the level of a rather simple fantasy (or in the case of some, as a sort-of sexual paradigm, ala Anne Rice). Kinuko Craft's illustrations are, for me, the main joy of this particularly title. As I noted in my review of her Cupid and Psyche, they are quite romantic, and almost overwhelmingly lush... The first full plate, in which the queen is seen bathing by the pool with the prophesying frog, is full of charm. I often think that Craft is at her most compelling when painting somewhat sinister figures, and here is no exception, as the two-page spread in which the king and queen are confronted by a very displeased fairy reveals. I would have awarded this five stars for the illustrations alone, but I found that the painting depicting the famous kiss scene was somehow flat. This was a real disappointment (one of the few I have ever felt in Craft's work), as this is the iconic scene of the tale. I cannot understand how the cover-illustration, which also depicts Aurora in her enchanted sleep, could appear so dynamic, while the "kissing" scene could look so bloated and unappealing. Oh well...
One other note, for the fairy-tale fan: I have noticed in my perusal of many different editions of Sleeping Beauty, that although this name is taken from the collection of tales by the Frenchman, Charles Perrault, the actual tale which we now more commonly associate with this title is taken from the Brothers Grimm. It is called Briar Rose in their collection, includes the prophetic frog at the beginning, and ends with the fateful kiss and resultant marriage. The Perrault version, sometimes also called The Princess of the Sleeping Wood, includes an entire second section, which takes place after the marriage, and involves the prince's ogreish mother. I have always found it fascinating that although it is the tale of Briar Rose we see so often reproduced, it is almost never called by that name. This version is clearly from the Grimm collection, and although Mahlon F. Craft acknowledges this by mentioning the name Briar Rose in his text, I would have liked to see something more official. Craft may have translated and reshaped the story, but it was written by the Brothers Grimm, and they are not mentioned at all, even on the title page. While I am sure that this is completely legal, as this tale has long been in the public domain, some acknowledgment of origin is in order, I believe...
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most recent picture book, she offers a gorgeous version of the famous tale of Sleeping Beauty, with the text arranged by her husband, Mahlon F. Craft.Although the tale of the sleeping beauty holds interest for me as a student of the folktale and its transmuted cousin, the fairy-tale, I have never been able to truly take it to heart. The idea of an enchanted sleep may have appealed to my childish imagination, but the complete passivity of the heroine always prevented me from truly empathizing with her. Whatever one thinks of Cinderella's desire to attend the ball, the reader can at least sympathize with her mistreatment at the hands of her step-family. Beauty, of Beauty and the Beast fame, can be admired, both for the sense of honor that compels her to acknowledge that her father's bargain must be kept, and for the devotion that leads her to take her father's place at the Beast's palace. Princess Aurora, on the other hand, is simply unlucky enough to be the target of a vengeful fairy's curse, and faces no personal and/or moral challenges that might elicit a sense of fellow-feeling from the reader.
This is not to say that Sleeping Beauty holds no appeal whatsoever, as it can still be enjoyed by on the level of a rather simple fantasy (or in the case of some, as a sort-of sexual paradigm, ala Anne Rice). Kinuko Craft's illustrations are, for me, the main joy of this particularly title. As I noted in my review of her Cupid and Psyche, they are quite romantic, and almost overwhelmingly lush... The first full plate, in which the queen is seen bathing by the pool with the prophesying frog, is full of charm. I often think that Craft is at her most compelling when painting somewhat sinister figures, and here is no exception, as the two-page spread in which the king and queen are confronted by a very displeased fairy reveals. I would have awarded this five stars for the illustrations alone, but I found that the painting depicting the famous kiss scene was somehow flat. This was a real disappointment (one of the few I have ever felt in Craft's work), as this is the iconic scene of the tale. I cannot understand how the cover-illustration, which also depicts Aurora in her enchanted sleep, could appear so dynamic, while the "kissing" scene could look so bloated and unappealing. Oh well...
One other note, for the fairy-tale fan: I have noticed in my perusal of many different editions of Sleeping Beauty, that although this name is taken from the collection of tales by the Frenchman, Charles Perrault, the actual tale which we now more commonly associate with this title is taken from the Brothers Grimm. It is called Briar Rose in their collection, includes the prophetic frog at the beginning, and ends with the fateful kiss and resultant marriage. The Perrault version, sometimes also called The Princess of the Sleeping Wood, includes an entire second section, which takes place after the marriage, and involves the prince's ogreish mother. I have always found it fascinating that although it is the tale of Briar Rose we see so often reproduced, it is almost never called by that name. This version is clearly from the Grimm collection, and although Mahlon F. Craft acknowledges this by mentioning the name Briar Rose in his text, I would have liked to see something more official. Craft may have translated and reshaped the story, but it was written by the Brothers Grimm, and they are not mentioned at all, even on the title page. While I am sure that this is completely legal, as this tale has long been in the public domain, some acknowledgment of origin is in order, I believe...
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LibraryThing member ronicadibartolo
This book has beautiful illustrations in it, by a talented artist. The story has everyone sleeping for a hundred years. Very different from our cultures in Disney films. I was drawn to the pictures more than the story. Its just one of those types of books.
LibraryThing member vsoler
Mahlon F. Craft retells the story of Sleeping Beauty with details many of us may not have heard in other Sleeping Beauty stories (like everyone in the castle also sleeping 100 years), but it is Kinuko Craft's illustrations that really shine in this book. Each illustration seems lit from within.
LibraryThing member amccann
The tale of a princess who is cursed on her christening day by the evil fairy. The fairy cursed her because the king did not invite her to the christening. The curse was that the child would fall into a death like sleep on her 16th birthday when her finger pricks her finger on a spindle. The king
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and queen try thee hardest to prevent this from happening to their beloved daughter but in the end it was inevitable. Years pass as they wait for someone to help their kingdom and for the true loves kiss to save the princess. Show Less
LibraryThing member yelhsajoh
Summary: Sleeping Beauty is about a young girl who is cursed by an old fairy to prick her finger on a spindle and die on her sixteenth birthday, but another fairy uses her magic to make her sleep instead. When her sixteenth birthday comes, she pricks her finger and sleeps, until true loves first
Personal Reaction: Sleeping Beauty is a classic, and I loved reading it yet again. It's a fun story about magic and witches and it's always nice to read it.
Classroom Extensions:
1. Focus on the number 16.
2. Have kids make up their own stories about what they would do if they had magic.
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kiss wakes her, and she lives happily every after.Personal Reaction: Sleeping Beauty is a classic, and I loved reading it yet again. It's a fun story about magic and witches and it's always nice to read it.
Classroom Extensions:
1. Focus on the number 16.
2. Have kids make up their own stories about what they would do if they had magic.
Show Less
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Pages
32