Customer Reviews

Beauty and the Beast

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The lush illustrations that accompany this classic tale are a feast for the eyes. Each page is full of rich detail and elegance. This book lacks the frames and sidebars that have come to characterize Jan Brett's recent work, but the tapestries that line the Beast's magical castle use the same foreshadowing effect. The predominantly pastel color scheme and the ornate period costumes combine to create just the right subtle elegance for this tale.

The condensed storyline remains true to the original tale. It's the gentle sacrificial Beauty we all know, and an appropriately frightening boar-like Beast. My favorite addition was the whimsical animal servants -- each courteous and elegantly dressed. This book has the deferential charm of an old fashioned fairy tale and the ever-relevant moral of looking past outer appearances.

Jan Brett's illustrations are so colorful and richly drawn that you could tell the story without the words if you wanted to. Her illustrations are magical.
This book is a wonderful telling of the fairy tale. The true meaning of the tale comes shining through. The illustrations bring life to the printed words.
You will love this book.

Jan Brett's books are always richly and beautifully illustrated. There is always a little extra "story" in the illustrations. In this one, you will be watching the animal servants throughout the book. Pay close attention to the tapestries in the background to see who these animals really are. My favorite are the monkeys. This version is very much like the original French fairy fale, and is well told.

This version of Beauty and the Beast is well written, beautifully illustrated, and makes the moral point of the story quite clear. It is the nicest I've ever seen. Forget the movie and get this book instead.

My youngest daughter wants to be an illustrator and Jan Brett books are her favorites.

I've given this book as a gift many times. The illustrations are just breathtaking and whimsical. You will find yourself stopping and searching the pictures in the middle of the story. This is still one of our favorites. The pictures reveal "the truth" behind what you are seeing going on around Beauty. When Beast is in the scene you see a picture of the Prince in a tapestry scene hanging on the wall. The story is the usual Beauty in the Beast story which is great, it's the illustrations that really bring this version to life.

I got this book years ago when I worked for the publisher. I've given this book as a gift many times. The illustrations are just breathtaking and whimsical. You will find yourself stopping and searching the pictures in the middle of the story. The story is very nicely done and my kids enjoy it much more than the Dineyized version storybook they have.

Jan Brett's Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tale books that I have collected so far. I originally came across it in middle school and I have been enchanted with it ever since. It is rendered beautifully, with period accurate 18th Century clothing, exotic animals, fantastic scenes, and amazing colors and detail. The story is very similar to the original French tale unlike the Disney version. It is a book that I would recommend for younger and older readers.

The Beast is a boar. Beauty is beautiful. And every illustration gives details and the story of the castle, through the backgrounds and the tapestries. Beautiful animals, (peacock feathers!) and even the Beast is beautifully dressed. Jan Brett did a fine job with this fairy tale. The silhouetting as Beauty and the Beast part ways is extraordinary. And the garden illustrations are very fine indeed. This book is a keeper!