Sleeping Boy

by Sonia Craddock, Leonid Gore (Illustrator)

Laugh and smile. Smile and laugh. That's Herr and Frau Rosen -- so happy to have a new baby boy! But when they invite all their friends in Berlin to celebrate the birth of little Knabe Rosen, they leave out one person -- the dreaded Major Krieg. When he comes anyway, he snatches the sleeping boy from the nurse's arms and "On your sixteenth birthday you will hear the drums drumming as the army marches by. Off to war you'll go -- and you will not come home." However, Tante Taube, the sleeping boy's aunt, hasn't given her blessing yet. "Instead of going off to war," she says, "Knabe Rosen will only sleep...sleep through poverty and war, bad times and sadness, until PEACE comes to Berlin." In this remarkable modern allegory, Sonia Craddock weaves a story of the twentieth century into the familiar framework of the Sleeping Beauty tale. Leonid Gore's resplendent illustrations delicately capture the ethereal, timeless quality of the story while firmly placing it against the backdrop of

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Katie Mccue]

This story is about the blessings and the curse that are wished on a baby boy named Knabe Rosen in Berlin, Germany. Major Krieg once propositioned Frau for marriage, she turned down this proposal and he has never forgiven her. When she gives birth to a baby boy he appears at her house to give his blessing, on Knabe’s sixteenth birthday a parade will come down their street and he will go off to war and never return. Another relative gives a blessing after this that the boy will sleep through the parade on his sixteenth birthday and not awaken until peace is throughout Berlin. He does sleep through the parade and so does the rest of the family. No one awakens until the war is over and there is peace throughout Germany. When the family awakens they throw a great party for Knabe and invite everyone in sight to share in the celebration.

This is a another example of a good multicultural children's literature picture book that could be used with a historical lesson on Germany.

[Logan Marshall]

Genre: Traditional Fantasy
Grade: 2-3
This is an interesting book that brings in fantasy, but also talked a little bit about history with the Berlin wall which is cool. The whole design of the book is interesting with the illustrations not being super clear. The story is cool and I think kids would enjoy reading it.

[Edward Creter]

This Germanic retelling of Sleeping Beauty broke and healed my heart. A German boy is cursed from birth to go to war and never return, but his Granma counters it with a sleep which sends not just the boy but the entire house to slumber blessedly all thru the Second World War as the Nazi Horde tramps thru and start killing everyone. When peace breaks out, lo and behold, they awaken..but will they have anything good to awaken to? I think you'll like the answer. Another tip for Sleeping Beauty fans: I'm unnerved that Disney would focus on the Wicked Maleficent, instead on the heroic Aurora and the Good Prince, so read this instead and hopefully you'll believe in Goodness against Darkness again.

[Kelli Ryne]

What a lovely allegory for Berlin over the last century. It is truly a book that can be used across age groups. However, this coincides very well with teaching about any war, especially when examining war poetry. Though the story itself is not a poem, it operates as a metaphor-- Sleeping Beauty is retold as we follow a young boy in Berlin at the turn of the century. Metaphors are often used in order to discuss war due to the grim and delicate nature of the subject matter. Students can explore these themes across various war poems and perhaps come up with their own.

[Alicia]

A baby boy is born to a happy family in Berlin and the celebrations move along nicely until an unwanted guest arrives and announces that on the boy's 16th birthday he will hear the sound of drums and he will be taken off to war. The family is devastated and no one pays any attention to the other guest that announces that he will hear the drums and merely fall into a deep sleep until Berlin has peace. An interesting take on the tale as holocaust lit, readers can begin to be introduced to the topic through a tale that they already understand.

[Nikki]

Sleeping Boy is an interesting tale about a German family. I enjoyed the culture of the book, as it is different than what I typically read in children's literature. The sleeping boy sleeps through war, poverty, and bad times. The only thing I did not enjoy were the pictures; they did not paint a very good picture.

[Kori Schlesener]

Sleeping Boy is an interesting picture book story of a boy from Berlin. It goes through some great history of Berlin, as the wall was once put up and then how peace was eventually found. I really loved this book and I found the illustrations, though somewhat dark and gloomy, to fit the story well.

[Gabriella Bumbaca]

Genre: Traditional Fantasy
Grade Range: 4-6
Review:
This would be more of a challenging book for older students. It has some great vocabulary words. The names are also pretty complex so it requires some sounding out.

[Monica]

art!