Sleeping Bobby - Hardcover

Osborne, Mary Pope; Osborne, Will

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689876688 ISBN 13: 9780689876684

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005

Synopsis

A beautiful baby, a sinister spell, a pricked finger, a hundred-year sleep, a true-love wake-up kiss.
We all know the story of Sleeping Beauty, but not the one that Will and Mary Pope Osborne tell -- with a handsome prince named Bob, a feisty princess who wakes him from his enchanted slumber, and charming artwork from acclaimed illustrator Giselle Potter. Here's a fresh, magical reworking of the classic fairy tale that's sure to have kids begging, "Read it again!"
As soon as he touched the wheel's spindle, a splinter pricked his finger.
"Ouch!" said Bob.
"Good night, Bobby," said the old woman.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Pope Osborne is the award-winning author of many distinguished books for children and young adults, including the bestselling Magic Treehouse series; Favorite Medieval Tales, illustrated by Troy Howell; American Tall Tales, illustrated by Michael McCurdy; Rocking Horse Christmas, illustrated by Ned Bittinger; and Adaline Falling Star. The former president of the Author's Guild, she lives in New York City with her husband, Will.

Giselle Potter has illustrated many books, including Once Upon a Fairy Tale House by Mary Lyn Ray, Try It! by Mara Rockliff, All by Himself? by Elana K. Arnold, and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne, as well as her own Tell Me What to Dream About, This Is My Dollhouse, and The Year I Didn’t Go to School, about traveling through Italy with her parents’ puppet troupe when she was eight. She lives in Rosendale, New York, with her husband and two daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3–In the vein of Kate and the Beanstalk (2000) and The Brave Little Seamstress (2002, both S & S), the Osbornes' fairly faithful adaptation of the Grimm Brothers version of Sleeping Beauty is written in a breezy, readable style, and most details of the original story have been included. However, in place of the heroic prince who awakens the beautiful sleeping princess, a kind, clever, modest, and very lovely princess awakens sleeping Prince Bob. Potter's folk-style characters are dressed in Elizabethan garb with details such as puffed sleeves, high lace collars, and ruffs. The use of brown tones on blue backgrounds to indicate the sleeping household provides an interesting contrast. The dry wit of the text may be beyond the grasp of the youngest listeners, but everyone can appreciate the simplicity of the story and the humor in the detailed, mixed-media illustrations. As a read-aloud, this tale is sure to be a hit.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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Starred Review. The creators of Kate and the Beanstalk update "Sleeping Beauty" by casting Prince Bob in the lead. With that exception, this wittily told version adapts readily to the exchange of male and female roles. Prince Bob's birth is a joyous event, and the happy king and queen invite 12 Wise Women to bless their son: There are 13, "but since the queen had only enough good china to serve twelve, one had to be left out." After the uninvited guest declares that Bob will "prick his finger on a spindle" and die on his 18th birthday, another promises not death but instead a century-long nap. Despite his parents' attempts to banish all spinning wheels, Bob has "great curiosity and a taste for adventure," and gets lured to the dangerous instrument. Potter suspends the snoozing, sepia-tinted characters against an ethereal blue backdrop. Afterward, bachelorettes trade "rumors [of] a kind, clever, modest, and very handsome prince," and become tangled in the formidable palace hedge. Only one princess, with "a taste for adventure" like Bob's, beats the thorns ("If this Bob is all they say, it will take more than some shrubbery to keep me from meeting him"). The Osbornes' conversational prose lends itself to being read aloud, and Potter's mixed-media paintings suggest destined romance and humble magic between the well-matched couple. All ages. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr. 2. The creators of Kate in the Beanstalk (2000) turn another familiar fairy tale into an irreverent, gender-twisting delight. As in "Sleeping Beauty," the king and queen search for a special, rarefied name worthy of their newborn child, who is "so extraordinary and so delightful." "How about Bob?" the queen asks. More deadpan punch lines appear throughout this lively retelling, which continues the reversal of sexes: at the end, it's a brave princess who comes to the rescue and plants the spell-breaking kiss on a handsome, slumbering prince. Potter's richly costumed, expressive characters amplify both the humor and sense of magic in painted spreads that, despite a few detailed images, will show well to a crowd. An excellent choice for reading aloud and for pairing with other cheeky fractured fairy tales, such as Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man (1992). For another story about a girl hero who saves her prince, suggest Robert San Souci's A Weave of Words (1998). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689876688
• ISBN 13: 9780689876684
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Potter Giselle
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40