Creeping Beauty
Publisher: Walker Books
Eshe is the thirteenth magical sister in the kingdom of Mythica, but her magical gift is more of a curse. She always dreams of a horrifying future, and has to prevent these terrible visions coming true. This time, she sees a world blanketed in vines, the vines endlessly growing and biting into people with their sharp thorns. In the centre is a beautiful girl. So when she and her sisters are invited to the christening of the princess, she concocts a special spell for the baby. But a harpy swoops in and condemns the princess to death. Quickly, Eshe softens the death curse to a sleeping one.
Fifteen years later, when the princess pricks her finger on a rose thorn, the sleeping curse is unleashed, and Eshe’s vision becomes real. Can she and the queen stop Creeping Beauty from taking over all of Mythica?
The third in Joseph Coelho’s Fairy Tales Gone Bad series is just as fun, slightly creepy and stunningly illustrated as the first two. The verse novel format (meaning fewer words on each page) and the many illustrations throughout combine to make it an appealing read. This twist on Sleeping Beauty is absorbing, original and deliciously magical.
