Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch's 1910 edition of Beauty inspired Brett's version, which uses the spell of a disgruntled fairy as the perpetrator of the Beast's dilemma. Brett's smooth retelling is far briefer than many, balancing the prose between narrative and conversation. Her Beast is a wild boar, deliberately modeled on Walter Crane's rendition over 100 years ago. The text and illustrations are enclosed in distinctive jeweled frames, and the sumptuous color drawings of lavishly clothed characters and the intricate palace scenes will easily woo readers. The tapestries on the walls (with human characters) mirror the scenes taking place in the palace (with animals, except for Beauty) and are embroidered with mottoes ("Be Guided by Your Heart's Gratitude" and "Do Not Trust to Appearance") to guide the lovely girl. As with Brett's Goldilocks and the Three Bears [BKL O 1 87] and The Mitten [BKL S 1 89], Beauty is an excellent choice to share with elementary-grade children who can appreciate the sophistication of the art and will enjoy comparing the text with other versions. --Deborah Abbott
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
A Beauty of distinguished appearance, a delightful set of animal servants, and a suitably hideous Beast are presented in Jan Brett's distinctive, decorative style. Small details, such as tapestries mirroring the action of the tale, add to the effect of the simply written story. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A brief, simple, yet graceful retelling of one of the most romantic of tales, with illustrations setting it in 18th-century France, where Mme. de Beaumont made her well-known adaptation. BreWs Beauty is elegant and fair; the Beast's garden formal and ornamented with statuary; the beast himself a man with the head of a wild boar but with eyes so kind that Beauty's affection for him is altogether plausible. His servants have also become animals; but their true selves are intriguingly revealed in wall-hung tapestries that show the same scenes with humans rather than animals, with comforting captions: ""Do not thrust to appearance""; ""Courage, Beauty."" A lovely, carefully made edition of an old favorite. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
