SLEEPING BOBBY
by Mary Pope Osborne & Will Osborne & illustrated by Giselle Potter
A third from the duo of Osborne and Potter, this one is less a feminist remake than simply a character gender swap. When a long-awaited son, Bob, is finally born to the royal couple, 12 of the kingdom’s 13 Wise Women are invited to the feast (there is a shortage of china). The spurned Wise Woman gives Bob the traditional gift of death by spindle prick, while the 12th lessens the curse to a 100-year sleep. The Grimms’ tale continues. Then, a “kind, clever, modest, and very lovely princess” with “great curiosity and a taste for adventure” sets out to find her fortune and determines she will seek the mysterious sleeping prince. When she finally lays eyes on him, she finds him so handsome that she just has to kiss him, thus awakening him and sparking their instantaneous love for each other. Potter continues the style set by the two earlier books—flat gouache-and-watercolor artwork in earth tones. Absent of the plucky, personality-rich heroines in their previous two outings, this one is an uninspiring disappointment save for Potter’s art. (Picture book. 4-8)