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Using fiction to smash stereotypes 21/03/25
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Sleeping Beauty
A mid-century fairy tale
Publisher: Pavilion Books
It's the 1950s and sci-fi-mad Annabel lives happily with her two aunts Rosalind and Flora, dreaming of the future, not knowing that when she was a baby, an evil witch cast a spell on her: on her sixteenth birthday, she will be pricked with a needle and die.
Fortunately, the aunts manage to change the spell a little, meaning that Annabel falls asleep for a thousand years instead, protected by aunt Rosalind who changes into a rose tree. Far into the future, a young girl called Zoe finds Annabel's story while researching the history of the ancient rose tree - and realises that if she wants to break the curse, she has very little time to do so.
A wonderful retelling of the classic fairy tale coupled with the book's fantastic 1950s-style illustration is sure to make this a very popular read for children, as well as adults with an eye for the retro and beautiful.
