Mrs. Crabbe's review

This is written by Neil Gaiman (who wrote Coraline) and illustrated by Chris Riddell (children's laureate for 2015-2017) so a cracking combination of talent.

The book is quite an unusual take on the original. It is more of a fantasy story with dwarves, witches and mountains than a fairy story with a predictable happy ending.

The pictures throughout are fantastic, and worth looking at carefully. You could make stories out of each of the illustrations. I also loved the quotes on particular pages.

I would suggest the book is for the more mature readers in the school.

SYNOPSIS

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.

On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-sleeper-and-the-spindle-9781408859643/