Snoring Beauty
Grade 2–5—Princess Marge, daughter of King Gluteus and Queen Esophagus, who is nearly doomed by an irate fairy to homicide by a pie wagon, has the harsh sentence modified by another ("half-deaf") fairy, Tintinnitus. The princess will become a sleeping dragon and will "one day" be awakened by "a quince." Although all pies (and pie wagons) are banned by the king, the "kind and beautiful, sweet and clever" princess has her foot run over by a suspicious but unrecognized pie wagon on her 16th birthday and becomes a loudly snoring dragon. You know the rest! Hale's sassy, tongue-in-cheek tale may sound like just another silly "Sleeping Beauty" rewrite. However, enriched by Fine's large, double-page watercolor paintings with their whimsical human visages, distinctive fairies, and frog courtiers; the inimitable sleeping dragon princess; a repetitive refrain ("Yada, yada, hippity-hop"); and those cacophonous snores, this fantastic story is a delightful treat that begs to be read aloud.—Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.