Reading Beauty
“Without its books, their world grew bleak,
consumed by dark and gloom.
Lex watched the shadows spreading
from the windows in her room. ”
“Reading Beauty” by Deborah Underwood is the second book by the author following “Interstellar Cinderella.” Underwood uses her talent to reimagine popular fairytales for today’s readers.
Can you imagine a world without books? We can’t. However, that is exactly what happens to Princess Lex and the world she lives in.
In “Reading Beauty,” Princess Lex is cursed by an evil fairy to fall into a death-like sleep by getting a paper cut while reading. This is devastating because Lex loves to read. Her room is full of books and she stays up all night reading past her bedtime. On her 15th birthday, however, her parents remove every book in the world to protect their daughter. Who wouldn’t?
Lex determines that she must take matters into her own hands to confront the evil fairy that cursed her and return books to the land. How she does so is brave, surprising and compassionate. We love that in a princess.
We have read many re-tellings of fairytales on our site. As authors and readers become more aware of the need to change the narrative, more and more stories like this are coming to light. We are thankful for that.
Still, we often find that the story is first re-told to empower white characters in new stories before the same is done for main characters of color. Representation matters and that is why we are highlighting this story. Every child deserves the chance to be seen in the world as they read it.
Another concept highlighted in this book is the idea of crime and punishment. It is easy to say “you do the crime, you pay the time.” We know life is not that simple. This book asks us to consider why people do bad things and offers an alternative to meeting harm with harm.
This is an especially pertinent topic considering the conversations we are having now with regard to racism and bias in our criminal justice system. It’s never too early to start the conversation about fair treatment and the philosophy of crime and punishment. Don’t believe that? Watch children share a limited number of toys for more than 5 minutes.
Of course we all need to held accountable for our actions, but what opportunities are we missing by stopping there? What good could come if we worked to prevent these things? Can we do that? These are fascinating concepts to ponder with children. Prepare to amazed by their ingenuity on the matter.
Some Things to Think About…
Lex forgives the fairy, teaches her a skill and gives her a job. Should the fairy be punished instead?
How can we be sure that a punishment “fits” the crime? Is jail or taking away money always the best answer? How should we handle criminals?
How does punishment like jail affect a criminals family and friends?
Activity Idea: Play cops and robbers, but challenge yourself to do so without having a jail to solve the problem.
illustrated by Meg Hunt
