Price: £6.99
Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 8-10 Junior/Middle
Length: 64pp
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The 13th Fairy
Illustrator: Stefano TambelliniThe author brings wit and playfulness to this alternative retelling of the traditional tale Sleeping Beauty, told from the point of view of the wicked fairy, Grimbleshanks. A loner, she sets herself apart from the other twelve ‘good’ fairies and readily admits to having a temper and hating all things pink and girly. When she discovers that the ‘goodies’ are invited to the christening of the royal baby, but she isn’t, she’s furious and seeks revenge. She sets a curse on the child, but things go horribly wrong as she delivers her spell and her words jumble together.
A modern-day heroine far removed from the original passive character, Grimbleshanks is opinionated, determined and feisty. She’s also full of foibles and the source of much of the story’s humour. Aimed at 8-12 year-olds (reading age of eight plus), the book is designed to appeal to the reluctant or dyslexic reader.