Sleepless Beauty

by Frances Minters

A contemporary, hip-hop version of a popular fairy tale features a wicked witch, an enchanted apartment, and a dreadful curse that places Beauty in the hands of a handsome rock star.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Poetry, Folklore, Fantasy, Fractured Fairy Tales

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really nothing more than a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, only this book's beauty is smart enough to outfox the vengeful witch. I did like the modern, urban spin, and G. Brian Karas's edgy artwork.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this picture book! It’s so clever and fun to read and it makes the protagonist an active and engaging character instead of the passive sleeping princess. Read all of Minters’ books if you can find them!!

[Keaton Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun book that takes a time old classic and puts a fun spin on it, makes it a little more relevant for kids today because in this time a record is seen as "old-timey". It's a fractured fairy tale, and it shows Beauty as more in control and more empowering. She is able to wake herself up and find a loophole in the curse. It shows that she is not defenseless, she can control her own destiny. Interesting illustrations, very different but really cool.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleepless Beauty is a great twist on a classic. What a great twist it was to read. I liked the story and it was a great way to retell the classic story. I gave it 4 stars because I wasn't big on the illustrations. I like the story because Beauty outwits the witch and she has more power in the situation she is in.

[Chelsie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a true girl power book! Sleepless Beauty is a modern day lady that can look out for herself and get things done. She outsmarts the spell placed on her and gets herself out of it and doesn't wait around for any guy!

[Tammy Manns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy/Poetry
Grade Level: Primary (2-3)

Such a cute story! It's a rendition of Sleeping Beauty with a little Jazz twist. I felt like snapping my fingers at the end! I wish the illustrations were a little brighter. They remind me of the Blues! Lot's of music tones in this book!

[Sarah-Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modern-day twist on sleeping beauty - still with the basic storyline but adapted to relate to today's society. A fun and visually appealing read.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun, rhythmic retelling if sleeping beauty!

[Smurf · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are a little creepy, to be honest, but they weren't scary or anything. They were actually interesting, and the style fit the story. It was a very unexpected, yet satisfying ending.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retelling of Sleeping Beauty told in rhyme. The illustrations have a yellowish, dark-fairy-tale sheen. The story itself has modern elements, and for some reason it felt very Soviet Russia to me. When I read this to my 4th graders a few weeks back, they were entranced, so I guess that's all that matters.

[Paola Galindo · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sleepless Beauty” is a modern retelling of classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty. The story takes place in the city and the events are set in motion when Sleepless Beauty’s parents don’t invite the witch down the street to Sleepless Beauty’s first birthday party. The witch says that Beauty will prick her finger on her 14th birthday and sleep for a hundred years until she is woken up by a rock star. Her parents try to get rid of every pointy object and her father even stops shaving his beard. However, the witch shows up in Beauty’s room and Beauty pricks her finger on a record player. But Beauty had a plan. She wakes up the next day because the night before she had set an alarm with a song that a rock star had played for her.
One of the things that really stood out to me when I was reading this book was the text and how the words were very readable and had a rhythm that made it feel like you were reading a song out loud. This is done first through the use of rhyming and with the help of the saxophone player who narrates the story. The book reads as a dialogue between the two where the saxophone player asks questions about what happened and Beauty answers back. It’s very fun and helps the story keep a good rhythm.
One of the things that I also enjoyed were the illustrations. I thought that they were different from a lot of other picture books because of how dark they were. The witch in particular looks borderline scary. Some parents may not want their children reading this because of how dark the illustrations are, but the book’s overall mood is also affected by the text, which keeps the story lighthearted.

[Dawn Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extraordinary. The illustrations and text made reading seamless. The story is told in first person voice and is about a baby girl named Beauty. Her parents have a party for her in their apartment 3D and invite everyone but the witch who lived down the block. She "was just to wicked to rate an invitation". The witch still comes to the party and gives the baby Beauty a gift; on her 14th birthday she will be pricked and her whole family will fall asleep for 100 years. The witch does show some kindness by telling the group that Beauty can only be woken by a rock star. After hiding any sharp objects for 14 years the witch appears in Beauties room and brings a record for her to listen to. Beauty, of course, pricks her finger on the record needle. She had planned for this situation however, and has it covered. She puts on her pajamas and hops into bed for a good night sleep. The next morning, not 100 years later, she is awoken by her alarm clock playing a song by her favorite rock star! She bounds down stairs and wakes her parents. Beauty writes the rock star to thank him for writing the song that woke her up, they meet and live happily ever after. This is a classic fairy tale with a modern twist, catchy rhythmic flow, and such complimentary illustrations that I will make sure this one is on my shelf.

[Christina Hyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. Sleepless Beauty is a fractured fairy tale with dark and ominous illustrations. This book was like a fairy tale that Tim Burton would write. This story is the story of Sleeping Beauty with a surprise twist at the end, this princess doesn't need a prince she chooses her own!

The illustrations were so beautiful, it was all dark and scary colors to fit the theme of fear at the beginning of the book when the evil witch curses the baby princess to sleep for a hundred years after she pricks her finger. The pictures had a Gothic feel to them that seemed very not young children friendly and more geared towards adults.

My favorite part of the book was when it veered off from the traditional Sleeping Beauty story. Just when you think all the characters are done for and the witch has gotten away with it, sleeping beauty saves the day by setting her alarm clock and waking herself up and saving the kingdom. This princess is independent and self-sufficient which I think is a great role model for all kids, especially girls.

[Baylee Washburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sleepless Beauty is a fractured fairy tale that retells the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty in a contemporary and rhythmic fashion. When the young beauty in this story pricks her finger and falls asleep as the evil witch’s curse foretold, rather than being awakened by her true love’s kiss, the young beauty in this story is awakened by the voice of a great rock star. The author’s choice to use a great rock star, rather than a handsome prince, to awaken the young beauty from her sleep reflects the musical style that is used throughout this book. The style can be clearly seen in the poetic and somewhat lyrical nature of the text which seems to appeal to the youth of today’s pop culture. This distinct, rhythmical style serves as an effective way to update and recreate the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty.

[Euna Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun rhyming fractured fairy tale that puts a great modern twist to a traditional story. In "Sleepless Beauty", Beauty the heroine, saves her own life with the clever use of an alarm clock. Set in New York City, Minters has again brought life into what could be a very sleepy... tale. Children and adults alike will enjoy the use of charcoal and and pencil drawings with dark colors to add to the mood and tone throughout the pages. Again, a great book to use in the classroom to compare different fairy tales and its versions. Questions and conversations could include: What are the characteristics of a fractured fairy tale? If you were to write your own fractured fairy tale which traditional story would you use and how would you develop the character, what types of illustrations would you use,etc. With this, students could write their own version of Sleeping Beauty!

[Brianna]

This is a creative spinoff of the popular Sleeping Beauty story. It talks about a princess who comes in contact with a witch that puts a spell on her. This spell makes it so that anytime she is pricked by something sharp, she will fall into a deep sleep. In order to prevent this from happening, the girl's parents take out of the house anything that is sharp or could hurt her. The princess is never allowed to get a manicure or sew a button, based on the fear that she might hurt herself. The story goes on and one day the princess inevitably cuts her finger, and immediately falls to sleep. However, she is not asleep for long, as she remembered to set an alarm! This twist at the end of the story makes it fun and enjoyable for younger readers. It would give them a good chance to compare and contrast two stories with similar story lines.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I enjoyed this story....perhaps I enjoyed a bit more then her!!

Sleepless Beauty is of course a spoof of the original Sleeping Beauty tale. In this story though, the lovely Beauty takes control of her own life, sets her alarm and thus saves herself instead of waiting for the prince to come and save her. Its a really nice twist on the classic tale.

I personally loved the drawings, very dark colors instead of the normal princessy pastels! I'm a fan of pastels, but these drawings were really great I think.

The story is set in modern times, adding to the twist of the story. Good book, trying to stay away from traditional princess or fairy tales, this book could be for you.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a unique twist to it. It does not have the typical fairy tale ending. Don't worry, I will not spoil the ending for you. You just have to read the book to understand what I mean. I love the rhyming the author used. It was catchy and made each turn of the page fun instead of a drag as some books do. And it is more modern and the original story of Sleeping Beauty. The illustrations were, again, different from your typical fairy tale. It takes on a more dark side because it doesn't use bright and happy colors but it doesn't by any means make you sad. I recommend this book to be added to your home library and if you are a teacher, to your classroom library.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in the title, Sleepless Beauty, and from the look of the cover it looked like it was set in the modern day era. The pictures are drawn with dark colors because of the charcoal and dark pastels materials used, but leave a somber tone to the book. The colors do not even change at the beginning or the end when things are happy, which is weird they wouldn’t reflect mood. I also did not like how the baby looks like a little girl at birth and drawings takes more a surrealism style of pictures. It is clever how she has updated the story line.

[Hana Doran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good remake of the original tale. While it still preserves some of the elements of the original, such as pricking her finger on a needle and being rescued by a male figure, it adds a cool modern twist with an emphasis on music. Additionally, it is the opposite of the original tale, seeing as that when she pricks her finger, everyone else goes to sleep around her. I liked this adoption of the first story and how it kept the basic structure of the original while changing up a few details to make the story more relevant to kids today.

[Katie Ellis]

I thought that this book had a wonderful creative twist to the old fairytale of Sleeping Beauty. At first, the stories started off the same, except with a switch to a modern setting, and then the author really started twisting the story in ways like making her prick her finger on a record player, having a subplot with a man singing on every few pages, and letting the town wake up to a rock star. I thought the author's solution to this very old fairy tale was a wonderful way to get across how to solve problems that seem so simple!

[Dalene Arizmendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleepless beauty puts a modern twist to the traditional Sleeping beauty. The story takes place in an apartment building, Sleepless beauty does not take the "damsel in distress" role and finds her own solution to the curse bestowed on her by the evil sorceress. The main theme of this book is taking charge and not wait for someone else to save you. I would recommend this book for young girls, to inspire them to break from the norm. I give this book 4/5 stars for the overall message that it sends to the reader, find your own path and create your own happy ending.

[Suzanne DeConto]

The was a cool version of Sleeping Beauty. Even though the title is "Sleepless" instead of "Sleeping", I still expected it to follow the same story line as "Sleeping Beauty". I was pleasantly surprised that she was able to defeat the Witch's evil spell. It was also a more realistic version, set in a city with a ordinary family and no fairies. This realistic aspect made it a little more appealing as an adult.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Year Published: 1996
Grade Level: K-6
This take on Sleeping Beauty is contemporary and fun. The character of Little Beauty has the same problem as the traditional story where if she pricks her finger everyone will sleep for 100 years. Only this has a more updated feel and she prepares by setting her alarm and waking up by her favorite rock star! It is a fantastic twist on the original story.

[Margaret Cobb]

I thought this was a very clever alternative fairy tale to Sleeping Beauty and thought the captions/ speech bubbles that the illustrations had were very funny and effective. The way the text was laid out was also very interesting as I sometimes had to turn the book to read the lines. I really liked this book and would definitely put it in my classroom if I were to be a teacher!

[Elizabeth Moser]

This book was a city rendition of Sleping Beauty. It had graphic illustrations. The witch was really frightening and the pictures were very dark. After discussing challenged books in class, I could see this as being challenged. It had a nice twist though, with Beauty setting an alarm clock and breaking the curse.

[Miri Gifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much nicer version of the story, with cool illustrations (does anyone know what that style is called? Ray Bradbury's The Homecoming looks similar, done by Dave McKean) and a female protagonist who uses her brain instead of waiting around to be saved! Excellent all around.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a geat rhyming book as well as a geat book to compare the original story sleeping beauty to. The writing in this story can also give students a great idea of how to create their own story. Sleepless beauty has a twist to it however, there is still a witch who is inoled with sleepless beauty. Wonderful book to read to students.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of sleeping beauty takes a wonderful twist in Sleepless Beauty. The artwork is very different from most children's books. It is beautiful in an interesting way. The entire book is written in verse form, which made the book lighthearted and funny. To top it all off, Sleepless Beauty doesn't wake up from Prince Charming. A rock star wakes her up. A rock star!!! Boom baby!

[Katie Hibbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun twist to a classic fairy tale! The story was written in a fun sing-song rhyme that makes you want to move to the beat!The illustrations were phenominal, although the witch might be a little scary for the little ones. I loved how clever Beauty was to wake herself up! Being so clever should lead her to the rock star of her dreams (and it does!)