Sleeping Handsome and the Princess Engineer (Fairy Tales Today)

I liked it. It was good, it wasn't a top 20 great children's book. I'd put it in the top half though.

Cute story!!!

My daughter is big into princesses, but she's also big into scientists and ninjas. She finds the usual "big strong prince will come and solve all her problems" storyline a tad tedious because she hasn't yet found a problem she can't tackle on her own. (Oh for the enthusiasm and confidence of 5 year olds!)My daughter and I fell in love with this modern take on the Sleeping Beauty story. Gone are the days of the helpless princess who needs rescuing by a prince, and falls in love with the guy just because he woke her up. Princess Anya is the perfect role model, intelligent, confident, and very outspoken. The story itself is funny with references that are incredibly relevant to today's world.If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would!

I love the idea of modernized, less sexist fairy tales, but I am not sure if this one is a little too simplistic. In this version, Prince Handsome is the character that has a curse put on him. He will prick himself on a sharp object and fall asleep as well as the rest of the court. His parents try to protect him but his friend brings pointy plastic swords from his kingdom and the curse kicks in. Over the years a city builds up around the castle and no one even knows it is there. Princess Anya, an engineer, brings an antique drill and gets to the Prince. She wakes Prince Handsome who immediately wants to get married. She vetoes that and they go watch a movie. The illustrations are great -- colorful, whimsical, and modern -- but the story itself leaves something to be desired.Thanks to Netgalley and Capstone Global Library for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love Kay's older books so whooped when I spotted this picture book. As expected, the Princess Engineer isn't a damsel in distress. She is more than capable of looking after herself, and tackles each problem she faces bravely. Her attitude towards Sleeping Handsome made me smile, as did the colourful illustrations which added to the humour and occasional danger. I love how Kay makes her characters the opposite of what they would be traditionally, if that makes sense. I want to reread this story already, and will definitely recommend it to friends. I'm eager to see what other picture books she creates!I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review on my blog Nayu's Reading Corner http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/sleeping-handsome-and-princess-engineer.html

I am always on the look out for books for my daughter with strong (or any) female characters. Unfortunately despite it being a twist on gender roles, although the book has tons of side characters- all but the princess are male. This would not pass Belchdel test.

A lovely book turning the usual fairytale stereotypes on their head. Charming and well written for younger readers.