Beauty and the Beast

The main lesson in this tale is that looks can be deceiving. All along the Beast is a handsome prince just looking for someone to truly love him to uplift the curse and make him happy. This tale also touches upon being content with what you have instead of dwelling on the past and wishing for more. Beauty, unlike her sisters, was content with her life. All she asked her father for on his trip was for him to bring her back a rose. Her sisters asked for a rich clothes and a coach. Talk about material things. Beauty did not need materialistic things in her life to make her happy; this is part of the reason she ends up with a happily ever after. Beauty, being content with her life and what she has, is not tainted with judging everything off of appearances. This is why she falls in love with an ugly Beast and breaks (to her) the unknown curse. Help your child learn about happiness, and that materialistic things cannot bring happiness to a person. Children will understand that looks are not everything are can be deceiving.

 It actually took me a long time to open up this book and read it. As a child I never understood Beauty and the Beast and could not get hooked on the movie. Reading this book and seeing the moral of the story gave me a new interest in the fairy tale. This story includes the beginning, middle, and end of an old folklore. I would read this in my class and show the Disney movie and have my students compare and contrast the two.

As always, Brett's illustrations are lush and incredibly rich in detail. In particular, I enjoyed this rendition of the folk tale of Beauty and the Beast.A rich merchant spoils his three daughters, two of whom are selfish, the other daughter, different than the other two, is other directed and lovely. When the merchant looses his fortune, it is Beauty who stays with him. In search of finding a means of living, on a snowy night he is lost and stumbles upon an intricate, lovely castle. He is provided with a meal, a bed and clothing. When he picks a rose for his daughter, the beast in the castle demands that he return with one of his daughters.He is given enough money to move forward in life, but must give up a daughter.When, brokenhearted, he returns home, it is beauty who agrees to return with him to the castle. Choosing to stay there, she is entertained by the beast and soon grows to warm to his charming intelligence.Asking to return home one more time, agreeing to return, soon she forgets her promise. In a vision she sees the beast dying. Returning to him, she finds him near death. Promising undying love and marriage, the beast becomes a princeThey live happily ever after.

LOVED THIS BOOK! It tells the story of a rich merchant who spoils his daughters, two who are spoiled, and one who is kind and lovely. The merchant loses his fortune and Beauty is the only one who stays with him. While traveling the merchant gets lost and stumbles upon a castle where he meets the beast! The beast then insists that the merchant bring him one of his daughters. Beauty volunteers and lives with the beast, and while there she begins to admire and love him.Teaching Ideas: loving people for who they are

beautiful illustrations

Brett, Jan. Beauty and the Beast. New York: Clarion Books, 1989. This elegant book tells the traditional tale of a girl named Beauty who promises to remain with a Beast in exchange for her father's freedom. In this book the characters are dressed in the fashion of the 18th century. All of the servants were changed into animals.On the wall are tapesties that reveal the true identity of the servant and a message for the reader. It is fun to read the little clues of foreshadowing that the author leaves for the reader. The text is appropriate for a 3-4th grader. Age group: 8-10 years.

After reading Betsy Hearne's Beauties and Beasts - an international collection of folktales that incorporate the theme of the beastly, or enchanted spouse - recently, I've been considering doing a Beauty and the Beast reading project. Yes, yes, I know: another of my themed reading extravaganzas! But this fairy-tale, and its many variants, has always had a special place in my heart, and I think it would be fascinating to examine the diverse ways in which different authors and illustrators have interpreted it. Jan Brett being an immensely popular picture-book artist, I thought her retelling would be as good a place to start as any.This retelling of the classic French tale of Beauty and the Beast features the intricate illustrations one would expect from Brett, from the gorgeous costumes to the appealing animals characters. Rather than use decorative borders to foreshadow, and tell more of her story (as she so often does), here Brett contrasts her foregrounded scenes, in which Beauty and her animal companions engage in a variety of activities, with her backgrounded tapestries, which (as careful readers will soon realize) depict the animals as they would appear, sans enchantment.Like a friend and fellow reader, I think Brett made some smart aesthetic choices in her Beauty and the Beast, concentrating on animals (always one of her strengths), and cleverly working a dual narrative into the artwork itself. I also appreciated the fact that her Beast is a boar, rather than the more "traditional" bear-like creature - a clear tribute to the work of Walter Crane (as noted in the jacket blurb). I was a little less impressed with the text, and the changes Brett had to make, in order to incorporate the animal servants (I think I prefer the "breezes" that appear in some other retellings). All in all, a lovely retelling, though not my favorite.

The illustrations in this story are beautiful. The story is a little different then the original Beauty and the Beast, but I enjoyed it.

In a gorgeously illustrated retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Jan Brett captures the romance and mystery of this classic tale. After a merchant picks a rose from an enchanted garden, his daughter Beauty must travel to the castle of the Beast in exchange her father’s life. The kindhearted Beauty is very frightened of the Beast, but his gentle heart and the amusing antics of the servants soon put her at ease. Over time Beast falls deeply in love with the gentle girl, but uneasy of her own feelings she rejects him time and again. Still, the Beast cannot deny Beauty anything she asks, so he releases her to return home to her family. Brett’s fluent prose expresses Beauty’s wrenching emotion when she realizes she’s abandoned her love, and her struggles to awaken his deathly sleep are suspenseful. Beauty and the Beast is a story that explores the true meaning of love, and proves that appearances are deceiving but that actions can speak louder than first impressions. Brett’s iconic art beautifully complements the classical narrative style. This book will evoke childhood memories in those familiar with the story, and those experiencing it for the first time will find it unforgettable.

Lovely telling of a traditional story. I really enjoyed this version.

This classic fairy tale story tells of a beauty who causes her father a misfortune and she must meet the beast. She is frightened at first, but he quickly falls in love with her, and turns into a prince. The illustrations bring the reader into a fairytale world and are very detailed.

“Beauty and the Beast” was interesting and very different from Disney's adaptation. However, I did not really enjoy reading this book. The font was very small and always below the pictures. Sometimes, I would be so caught up in reading that I forgot above the words were illustrations. With that said, the illustrations were beautifully done in a way that made them look almost real. The main idea in this book is that beauty is on the inside not the outside.  

This book tells the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. This book is a little outdated with the illustrations so I don't find the pictures very captivating. In this story it's a little different than the Disney movie. The merchant has three daughters and he has promised one to the beast. Other than that it has everything that is known for the story. I would read this book to my students to help them understand more about folktales.

A simple retelling elegantly illustrated.