The Sleeper and the Spindle

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell, 66 pages

In this short story, Gaiman offers up his take on Sleeping Beauty (with a bit of Snow White thrown in for good measure). But while you still get the beautiful dozing girl locked high in a tower that's surrounded by thorny rosebushes, it's far from a traditional retelling. I enjoyed Gaiman's twists, as well as the humorous asides that he throws in as narrator. The standout here, however, is Riddell's detailed pen-and-ink illustrations. They're so wonderful that, even though you can easily finish this book in half an hour, it's worth spending much much longer with the book just to scour the details of the illustrations.