Sleeping Beauty is a classic fairy tale about a young princess who gets put under a spell and the only way for the spell to be broken is if her true love kisses her to break the spell. The illustration in this book are right from the movie so it makes it very lively and enjoyable to read. In the classroom you could talk about good verses evil. You could even just use this book to talk about spells and curses by witches (the bad person in the story). The prince could also be the hero and maleficent could be the villain. ( )

I enjoyed reading the classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, for two reasons. First off, the story has an intriguing plot that built up to the climax well. New exciting aspects kept adding to the story to keep the reader interested. For instance, all before the princess is woken up by true loves kiss, exciting details such as the fairies putting a sleeping spell on all of the kingdom and the prince having to fight through the rose forest and the evil dragon are all used to keep the reader intrigued and wanting to read more. Secondly, I enjoyed reading the author's descriptions of characters and events throughout the story because of the expressive word choice used. For example, when describing the evil fairy, the author writes how her "green eyes burned with anger", which creates a vivid image in the reader's mind. This story tells the message of how good prevails over evil and the power of true love. ( )

ISBN 0394927982 (5 stars) - Keep in mind that Disney's Wonderful World of Reading books are intended to help youngsters start reading on their own, because this book isn't meant for the advanced reader. The story is shortened and altered somewhat and the text is simplified using easy vocabulary words. The graphics are part of the story in these books, as well, making it easy for young readers to see what's happening as they learn to read.

The entire set is standard Disney - bright, beautiful graphics to catch kids' eyes and pull them into the wonderful world of reading!

ISBN 0785300252 (3 stars) - Since this is the second version of Sleeping Beauty that I've read recently, I thought I'd merge the reviews for comparison. The one thing that makes Jane Jerrard's adaptation for the Fairy Tale Treasury series is the almost pocket-size, perfect for taking along when you're out of the house. The illustrations by Burgandy Nilles are nice and, considering how small they are, surprisingly detailed. They are generally much less vibrantly colored than the Disney illustrations. This version is all right, but just doesn't compare to the Disney edition.

The story is the same, essentially, in both books. After years of wishing for a child, the King and Queen finally have a girl who, other than Princess and later Sleeping Beauty, has no name. Fairies (the number varies) come to the celebration of her birth and bestow good things upon her, except for one fairy who wasn't invited (details vary). Her gift to the child is a promise that she will die when she is sixteen years old, after pricking her finger on a spindle. This terrible curse cannot be removed but one last fairy has a gift left to give and softens the curse so that the Princess will sleep until kissed by a Prince, rather than die. Her father's efforts to thwart the curse do no good and the curse comes true years later. The fairy who'd lightened the curse puts the rest of the castle's residents to sleep and grows a magical forest around it to protect them until the right Prince comes along. When he does, happiness and life are restored to the castle and the Prince and Princess marry.

- AnnaLovesBooks ( )