Sleeping Beauty - Classic Re-telling

Sleeping Beauty – Classic Re-telling (2003)
Narinder Dhami – Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 0141316446
Condition: Used (like every good fairy tale)
Vendor: Crappy Old Books

Once upon a time, a baby princess didn’t get invited to the right party, a fairy got in a mood, and centuries of disaster planning were completely ignored. Because what’s the worst that could happen?

In this classic re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, Narinder Dhami dusts off the spinning wheels, wakes up the castle and serves the story in a fresh, pacey version that still has all the essentials: curses, roses, true love, and absolutely woeful risk management at royal events.

Inside these charmingly lived-in pages you’ll find:

• A princess who’s been given all the usual fairy gifts – beauty, grace, charm – and one slightly less welcome perk: an appointment with a spindle.

• A royal court that responds to a dire curse by... banning spinning wheels. All of them. Everywhere. Because that’s obviously foolproof.

• A fairy who takes not getting an invite very personally, and another who does frantic magical damage control that technically works – if you consider “hundred-year enforced nap” a win.

• A castle full of people who take “sleep mode” to a new level: not just the princess, but the whole household, frozen mid-task like the world’s fanciest pause button.

• A prince who shows up after a century, does one gently heroic thing, and gets credit for absolutely everything. Classic.

Dhami’s retelling keeps the bones of the tale but adds modern clarity and flow, making it ideal for confident younger readers or a bedtime story that doesn’t involve deciphering 19th-century sentence structures.

Our copy is graded Used, which in the refreshingly honest dialect of Crappy Old Books means:

• The cover shows a little gentle wear: a faint crease here, a touch of edge rub there – signs of having been taken to bed, stuffed in school bags, and possibly read under the duvet past bedtime.

• The spine is creased but very much intact, proving that this book has actually been opened, not merely admired from afar like a glass slipper in a display case.

• The pages are all present, secure and perfectly readable, with that soft, lightly handled feel that says “once upon a time, at least one child loved this.” You might spot the odd tiny dog-ear or smudge from snack-assisted reading.

• No catastrophic juice spells, no biro murals over the illustrations, and no mystery rips at the crucial “true love’s kiss” moment.

Not pristine, not “enchanted under glass” – but exactly the kind of gently worn fairy tale you can actually read without worrying.

Perfect for:

• Young readers ready to tackle fairy tales on their own, with friendly, straightforward prose.

• Adults seeking a familiar story in an accessible, modern version for read-aloud duty.

• Anyone who’s ever wondered why no one thought to do a proper risk assessment on cursed birthday parties.

• Fairy-tale fans who enjoy the comfort of the classic plot with a cleaner, snappier telling.

Sleeping Beauty – Classic Re-telling is a cosy, readable spin on a story that refuses to stay asleep: curses, castles, kisses, the whole enchanted package.

Available now from Crappy Old Books, where our princesses are slightly dog-eared, our castles are a bit creased, and our “Used” condition simply proves this story has already had at least one happily-ever-after.

Keep browsing: See more Kids books Other books by Narinder Dhami