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Reading Beauty
Once upon a planetoid,
surrounded by book lovers,
a princess, Lex, read morning, noon,
and night (beneath her covers).
When a fairy's curse—a deathlike sleep via paper cut—threatens to make her kingdom barren of books, it's up to space princess Lex to break the spell and bring books back to her people. Set in the universe of the acclaimed Interstellar Cinderella, this irrepressible fairytale retelling will charm young readers with its brave heroine, its star-studded setting, and its hilarious, heartwarming happy ending.
surrounded by book lovers,
a princess, Lex, read morning, noon,
and night (beneath her covers).
When a fairy's curse—a deathlike sleep via paper cut—threatens to make her kingdom barren of books, it's up to space princess Lex to break the spell and bring books back to her people. Set in the universe of the acclaimed Interstellar Cinderella, this irrepressible fairytale retelling will charm young readers with its brave heroine, its star-studded setting, and its hilarious, heartwarming happy ending.
36 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2019
9 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
September 24, 2019
While
Interstellar Cinderella
brought a modern, feminist twist to "Cinderella", Reading Beauty does the same with the classic "Sleeping Beauty". Instead of a spindle being the catalyst for the curse, it's a paper cut. What else would it be for a voracious reader like Lex?
The rhyming text tells the story in a fun way, and there is a neat twist near the end that helps explain why the fairy cast the curse in the first place.
Like Interstellar Cinderella, Reading Beauty has nearly impeccable rhyme, which makes it easy to read aloud. Aside from one instance of a character shrugging their speech, the writing itself is pretty strong, too. I don't like the illustrations here quite as much as I did in Interstellar Cinderella; they're highly stylized in both books, but the fairy in this one looks just a bit too chaotic (I had to pause a few times and look at her more closely because her strange proportions and exaggerated features confused my eyes and brain a bit).
Overall, though, Reading Beauty is just as strong as its predecessor. I really hope Underwood and Hunt make more of these clever retellings. I'm sure there are more stories from that planetoid just waiting to be told.
Quotable moment:
The rhyming text tells the story in a fun way, and there is a neat twist near the end that helps explain why the fairy cast the curse in the first place.
Like Interstellar Cinderella, Reading Beauty has nearly impeccable rhyme, which makes it easy to read aloud. Aside from one instance of a character shrugging their speech, the writing itself is pretty strong, too. I don't like the illustrations here quite as much as I did in Interstellar Cinderella; they're highly stylized in both books, but the fairy in this one looks just a bit too chaotic (I had to pause a few times and look at her more closely because her strange proportions and exaggerated features confused my eyes and brain a bit).
Overall, though, Reading Beauty is just as strong as its predecessor. I really hope Underwood and Hunt make more of these clever retellings. I'm sure there are more stories from that planetoid just waiting to be told.
Quotable moment:
November 8, 2019
An amusing and exuberantly illustrated version of the Sleeping Beauty tale. In this version, Princess Lex is a bookworm (yes!!) When she finds out that she's doomed to fall into a deep sleep after getting a paper cut while reading, she takes matter into her own hands and goes to talk to the fairy who laid the curse on her.
Lex deals with the problem expediently, and there's a positive and happy outcome, because Lex makes sure there is. And the best part of the story: Lex can go back to spending major amounts of time reading. Now that's a happy ending.
Lex deals with the problem expediently, and there's a positive and happy outcome, because Lex makes sure there is. And the best part of the story: Lex can go back to spending major amounts of time reading. Now that's a happy ending.
January 19, 2021
i actually just listened to someone read this on youtube. it's a pretty good story. lots of compassion and a princess passionate about reading.
okay. where was this when i was an actual child!?
okay. where was this when i was an actual child!?
October 16, 2020
AS ILUSTRAÇÕES SÃO RIDICULAMENTE LINDAS!!!!!!!! Queria que fosse uma história mais longa só pra ficar vendo a arte mil vezes de tão bonita que é. <3
August 8, 2023
Yes! This!
In a sci-fi setting lives Princess Lex, a lover of books. A fairy has cursed Princess Lex; when she's fifteen she will get a papercut and fall into an endless sleep, only to be woken by true loves kiss. (Apperently they don't have ebooks in this world.) Princess Lex doesn't take this lying down. She sets off to find the fairy herself.
And, not to spoil anything, but that whole true-love's kiss thing? You might notice on the second page that her dog's name is Prince.
Oh, and it rhymes.
In a sci-fi setting lives Princess Lex, a lover of books. A fairy has cursed Princess Lex; when she's fifteen she will get a papercut and fall into an endless sleep, only to be woken by true loves kiss. (Apperently they don't have ebooks in this world.) Princess Lex doesn't take this lying down. She sets off to find the fairy herself.
And, not to spoil anything, but that whole true-love's kiss thing? You might notice on the second page that her dog's name is Prince.
Oh, and it rhymes.
November 30, 2019
The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. Seeing a voracious young reader use books to solve her problems was fun, but I thought the verse was a bit stilted and difficult to find the rhythm to read aloud.
October 20, 2019
Cute art, but haphazard plot and rhyming.
January 3, 2020
I love this book so much! Saving herself and using books to do it! It was great! I also really, REALLY love the illustrations too!!!
December 1, 2024
obsessed with how good the rhymes are in this book!
January 27, 2022
3 - 5 years
Omg I love this so much!!!!
Omg I love this so much!!!!
December 18, 2021
The main character is Princess Lex, she loves to read, and there's a grumpy fairy that ends up becoming a librarian. I love it :)
October 6, 2021
Nice new twist about Sleeping Beauty involving books.
April 30, 2020
In Reading Beauty, we have another fractured fairy (from the creators of Interstellar Cinderella). On her fifteenth birthday, avid reader Princess Lex has all her books taken away by her parents. They explain that they must do this because of the curse of a fairy who said Lex would be cursed by a paper cut when she was fifteen. Faced with a life devoid of books, Lex knows she must confront the wicked fairy and demand she lift the curse. Will she save the day or make matters worse? The brightly colored illustrations in this book were rendered in brush and ink, pastel, marker, and graphite, and colored digitally.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
March 9, 2020
I guess my kid doesn’t know any fairy tales? So he thinks this is just a fun story and I’m sitting there happy because i loved Disney’s Sleeping Beauty when I was a kid -but my favorite things about it were the fairies in their cottage being sassy and fun, the horse, the pretty dress (which should have stayed blue), and Maleficent. Aurora and the prince were both pretty useless. My other favorites were 101 Dalmatians and Lady and the Tramp because Dogs.
So this book is great because it doesn’t creepily force a romance on little kids, the princess is totally cool, she has an awesome dog, there’s no killing, and the illustrations are fun.
So this book is great because it doesn’t creepily force a romance on little kids, the princess is totally cool, she has an awesome dog, there’s no killing, and the illustrations are fun.
July 2, 2020
I love Underwood's sci-fi fairy tale world! This is another cute picture book in keeping with Interstellar Cinderella, with a great diversity of characters and a fun twist ending. The verse in this story was a little clumsier that Interstellar Cinderella, but I still enjoyed it.
July 18, 2020
I loved Interstellar Cinderella and Reading Beauty did not disappoint! I love the fairy tale adaptations that Deborah Underwood & Meg Hunt have done and I will continue reading ALL of them! <3
"...Stories gave her courage when the trip got rough and scary."
*There is a good amount of words & some complex vocabulary in this book (i.e., herbicide, bleak, muffled, brimmed), but none that can't be explained in context. Great for a read aloud because it rhymes very nicely.
"...Stories gave her courage when the trip got rough and scary."
*There is a good amount of words & some complex vocabulary in this book (i.e., herbicide, bleak, muffled, brimmed), but none that can't be explained in context. Great for a read aloud because it rhymes very nicely.
January 30, 2020
I like it when I enjoy a book enough that I can forgive it for being a rhyming picture book. This one is far from the worst I've read but I could still do without the rhyming. That said, the characters are fabulous, the story is great, the whole thing is hilarious and well illustrated in vibrant color...this is just fun.
July 8, 2020
A fantastic fairytale retelling. It’s so good. I love love love that Princess Lex uses the knowledge found in books (even when books are “dangerous”) to find the solutions to the obstacles in front of her.
November 6, 2019
I would give my life savings for Pippin to be able to fetch me a book on command.
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October 12, 2022cute story about the good that books can bring
January 5, 2023
Adorable retelling of Sleeping Beauty with awesome artwork.
February 13, 2025
Not my favorite illustrations but what a great book for a bibliophile
November 28, 2019
This is my new ABSOLUTE favorite picture book! An entire planet of book lovers?! WHAT?! Can't wait to pick up a physical copy for my shelf and obsess over it for a million years.
February 12, 2022
I absolutely loved this tale that reimagines Cinderella as a bookworm!
November 28, 2019
I'm rating this up because I love, love, love so many of the ideas here- that the princess loves to read, that she figures out her own way to deal with her situation, that her impetus for finding a solution is not wholly self-centered, that she doesn't want revenge on the "evil" person who placed the curse on her, that she sees the underlying cause for her villainy and wants to help her rather than penalize her.
I also enjoyed the artwork for the most part- beautiful color palette, charming illustrations, a bit busy at times.
My only issue is that I got a pretty distracted by the rhyming scheme (which I didn't with Interstellar Cinderella). There are quite a few times when I felt like I had to choose between sacrificing the natural cadence of the phrase, or the cadence of the rhyme :/
I also enjoyed the artwork for the most part- beautiful color palette, charming illustrations, a bit busy at times.
My only issue is that I got a pretty distracted by the rhyming scheme (which I didn't with Interstellar Cinderella). There are quite a few times when I felt like I had to choose between sacrificing the natural cadence of the phrase, or the cadence of the rhyme :/
October 18, 2019
This is the only retelling of Sleeping Beauty that matters! Such great twists on the classic plot points. And anything with dogs and their love for people makes me misty-eyed.
September 29, 2022
Princess Lex read morning, noon, and night, surrounded by book lovers. Where is this place? Sounds like a great place to live. I found this book at the library and after this opening page, I was sold and I had to check it out. With a bedroom full of books, Lex would speed read through them, enlisting her trained dog to help fetch her reading material for her. This all changes on her 15th birthday though. When she awoke on her birthday, all of her books were gone! Craziness!!
Lex runs to parents and they sit her down and explain. When Lex was little, her parents had a party. An irritated fairy crashed the party, made a scene because she thought she wasn’t invited. That night at the party, the fairy put a curse on Lex. The curse stated that when Lex turned 15, she would receive a paper cut. This cut would be the result of reading a book. The cut would put her in a deep sleep which could only be cured by a kiss from one’s true love. Hence, her parents were the ones who took all of her books away. They saved her from a paper cut which would put her in a deep sleep.
Now, Lex’s world became dark and sad. She didn’t have any books to read. Lex couldn’t let this go on any longer and she decides to pay the fairy a visit to see about undoing the curse. Needing information to get this accomplished, Lex gets the help from a bot. The fairy has been keeping tabs on Lex and she was prepared for Lex when she arrives. It’s a princess vs. a fairy as they battle out this curse and the ending was great.
I enjoyed this book. I thought the illustrations were fun and full of energy and the storyline was fast-paced and entertaining. It has a good message too. I highly recommend this cute book. 4.5 stars
Lex runs to parents and they sit her down and explain. When Lex was little, her parents had a party. An irritated fairy crashed the party, made a scene because she thought she wasn’t invited. That night at the party, the fairy put a curse on Lex. The curse stated that when Lex turned 15, she would receive a paper cut. This cut would be the result of reading a book. The cut would put her in a deep sleep which could only be cured by a kiss from one’s true love. Hence, her parents were the ones who took all of her books away. They saved her from a paper cut which would put her in a deep sleep.
Now, Lex’s world became dark and sad. She didn’t have any books to read. Lex couldn’t let this go on any longer and she decides to pay the fairy a visit to see about undoing the curse. Needing information to get this accomplished, Lex gets the help from a bot. The fairy has been keeping tabs on Lex and she was prepared for Lex when she arrives. It’s a princess vs. a fairy as they battle out this curse and the ending was great.
I enjoyed this book. I thought the illustrations were fun and full of energy and the storyline was fast-paced and entertaining. It has a good message too. I highly recommend this cute book. 4.5 stars
April 24, 2019
Caught a sneak peek at TLA (thanks Chronicle!) and am blown away by this mid-century modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a beautiful brown-skinned protagonist who loves to read, sans prince. It’s in verse made for primary grade readalouds.
May 4, 2020
A spin on Sleeping Beauty. I love that it is about books and the love of reading but I found some of the rhymings stilled.
July 7, 2020
Great read! Short and easy. Perfect for one sitting. Loved how it was written. I do recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews