Beauty and the Beast

by Jan Brett

Overview

This retelling of the classic fairy tale will appeal to children because of its mystery, suspense, and romance, and to adults because of its exploration of the duality in human nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395557020
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/01/1990
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	400,349
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

With more than thirty million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation’s foremost author/illustrators of children’s books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An excellent choice to share with elementary-grade children who can appreciate the sophistication of the art and will enjoy comparing with other versions." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

Editorial Reviews

"An excellent choice to share with elementary-grade children who can appreciate the sophistication of the art and will enjoy comparing with other versions." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review —

From the Publisher

A single peacock feather, its delicate beauty rendered in meticulous detail, sets the tone for this sumptuous retelling of a classic fairy tale. The story is a familiar one, with true love triumphing over a wicked enchantment in the end (the moral, of course, is ``never judge a book by its cover''). But the central attraction is the illustrations. Brett's images glide by in a kaleidoscope of luminous color: iridescent blues and greens flow from page to page, entwined with the radiant shades of Beauty's own symbol, the rose. Brett, whose trademark is her careful detail, leaves hidden clues for sharp-eyed readers that hint at the Beast's secret--such as mottoed tapestries and glimpses of the meddlesome fairy herself, decked out naturally enough as a peacock butterfly. But it's the recurring motif of the peacock, itself a symbol of vanity and surface appearances, that ties the threads of the story together. It's a brilliant marriage of artwork and text; once again Brett proves herself a contemporary illustrator of consummate skill. Ages 6-12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly