Review by Booklist Review
Jones reworks this classic fairy tale to include more grown-up sensibility, with sarcasm and asides sprinkled into the tale. When Beauty's sisters' suitors flee, her first response is, Was it something I said? And the sisters are horrified to move to a place without clothes shops. Words like ramshackle, picky, ghastly, and gabbled add to the more mature presentation. The illustrations, many of them in silhouette with the heavy use of black line, continue the sophisticated approach. More discerning viewers will note that the characters are always seen in profile, and the scene of Beauty and the Beast at the table is repeated twice, first with ominous shadows on the walls, and the next time with a softer background, revealing their changing relationship. The castle interior, also in profile, shows the movement of the Beast's guests and adds a bit of playfulness to the story, suggesting a dollhouse more than a house of terror. A fresh look to appeal to older fairy-tale fans.--Ching, Edie Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Galloping horses, lace cuffs, magnificent gowns, snow-covered forests, ivied turrets, and bowers of roses adorn the pages of this version of the fairy tale, first published in 2012 in the U.K. Gibb offers lacy b&w silhouettes and rosy, dramatically lit spreads, while Jones retells the story of the tormented Beast and his prisoner in lively, unaffected prose. She plays up the cruelty of Beauty's sisters, portraying the two of them holding onions up to their eyes so they will appear suitably saddened by the prospect of Beauty's death. In another sly moment, the sisters try on the pretty clothes Beauty has brought home, unaware that the Beast has ensured that only Beauty may wear them; the magical clothing promptly turns into "silly knickers," humiliating them most satisfactorily. Beauty's a demure heroine whose virtues are poise ("But Beauty replied 'Yes, I have,' so calmly, no one would have guessed how frightened she was") and quiet truth-telling ("Some people look very kind," she tells the Beast, "but inside they are really monsters"). Romantically minded readers will leave these dreams of splendor only with reluctance. Ages 4-7. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-She's pretty in pink, and he's a huge, muscular hunk in a rosy suit with ruffled sleeves (except for his deep blue attire on the book jacket and title page). His long, curved fingernails, unruly hair, and fanglike teeth mark his identity as a beast, but he is surely a svelte suitor. Among the numerous Disneyfied and simplified versions of this popular tale, this retelling is a middle-of-the-road offering. The narrative includes plenty of description and dialogue in a story that begins with the jealous and picky sisters and their search for husbands. "One sister was waiting for a duke, and the other wouldn't leave the house for less than a prince." This large format picture book, with substantial text and images, rolls along rather like a soap opera tale of riches to rags to restored riches (that come trade for the good sister's imprisonment by an ugly captor. The bits of enchantment are interesting touches, more dreamlike than dramatic. Pretty scenes resembling watercolors alternate with black silhouette views lit with washes of color. Multiple rooms in the nighttime castle and dark figures overlay other painted scenes, adding drama. Libraries owning strong and elegant earlier editions may not need yet another retelling of this tale, but this version features a pretty good romance, capably crafted with lots of fancy dresses and familiar themes.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Fairy-tale aficionados and princess-obsessed kids will all find something to love in this refined retelling. Beauty's sincerity and innocence is nicely contrasted with her sisters' shallowness and greed. Gibb renders many of the illustrations in profile or silhouettes, some in color and some in dramatic black-and-white with color accents. There's lots of rich detail to pore over time and again. (c) Copyright 2014. 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 version of the classic tale rich in color and design but less than satisfying in the telling. Beauty's two older sisters are the villains, wanting only riches and titled husbands and wailing when their father loses his wealth and they must move to the countryside. When he returns to the city to mitigate his losses, the sisters ask for diamond tiaras and dresses, while Beauty asks for a rose, and the tale takes its traditional course. Beauty bravely attends the Beast, learns to appreciate what he offers her in books and amusements, but gently rejects him each night when he asks her to marry him. When she returns home to visit her father, she brings beautiful clothes that her sisters try to steal, but they turn into foolish-looking underwear when the sisters put them on. In revenge, her sisters conspire to keep her from the Beast, and she returns late only when she dreams he is dying, and the tale ends as readers will expect. Exquisite floral details, tiny patterns and cut-paper silhouettes make for much loveliness, but the touches of humor are forced, and the sisters are just silly. While one can nearly always use another gold-embossed fairy tale, this one fails to enchant. (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
