A book worth buying in hardback for your collection!Īuthor Mahlon F. Yes, I said that, the universe seems determined to reconcile me with Disney's version.Ĥ.5 stars rounded up. Not to mention that the prince has lighter hair, just like Adam has lighter hair than Belle. The colour palette looks like an homage to the Disney animated motion picture, because it's the same colour arrangement: yellow dress for Beauty and blue for Beast. Brock did this same scene like Crane's, too.Īlso, look at this illustration of them together once the curse is broken: I don't know if it was an intentional homage or just an inspiration, but that doesn't matter it wouldn't be the first homage to Crane's classic, because H. Isn't it lovely? That scene done by Crane is one of my all-time favourite illustrations of the fairy tale, and I was so happy to see Craft did it as well. On the positive, the single panel depicting them together before they're seen together again with him in human form is an obvious homage to Walter Crane's famous illustration of the dining scene: Because this is Beauty and the Beast, and because their relationship is crucial for the story, I believe there shouldn't be neither an emphasis on Beauty alone nor unequal screen time for Beauty and Beast, either together or separate. There's only two illustrations in which he appears (three if you count him in human form), of which only one is of him and Beauty together. And in her case I don't mean depiction-wise, because as far as looks/appearance go, her Beast is well-done. It's simply gorgeous, so lush, so colourful, so ethereal, and sweet.īut (there's always a "but," and this "but" is a repetitive one for me with B&B picture books) there's something that disappoints me: like a lot of great artists, Mrs Craft sets her heart on Beauty only and doesn't do full justice to Beast. ![]() It's the art you must look at for emotional investment. It doesn't elicit strong investment, you don't feel the tension or the feelings of the characters, and their interactions are clipped. It's a simple prose and sometimes a bit blunt in delivery. The only reason the textual adaptation doesn't get higher marks from me is that it's not a flowy and elegant writing. And another aspect that pleased me is that this book includes Beaumont's implicit condemnation of the fairy who cursed the prince as evil that too many other adaptations overlook. Oh, and this is also one of the rare adaptations, if not the only, that includes the punishment for the sisters from the fairy tale. I'm rather disappointed this scene wasn't illustrated, probably because this is an all-audiences book and maybe also because Mrs Craft didn't want to do it so soon when she'd already done it for "Sleeping Beauty." Might've been controversial as well. And it's not a chaste peck on the cheek, either. This is the only B&B picture book that I know of in which Beauty and Beast kiss. Mr Craft seems almost afraid of altering the standard plotline, actually, because the only actual and original change, as opposed to simplifications and edits-out, was that he did actually introduce is a kiss, which doesn't alter the theme or the plotline in any way. I got a smile out of the warning at the beginning of the book that states this is "loosely themed on Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's version," because this is actually almost slavishly faithful, and if this is "loose," then I don't know what faithfulness is supposed to be. Plot-wise, it's an abridgement of Madame de Beaumont's already abridged version, with very slight variations that don't negatively affect any of the key elements, straightforward and traditional, so you're not going to get any disagreeable surprises from the story itself. One of the most beautiful picture books of Beauty and the Beast I've ever seen, and it couldn't have been otherwise with K. ![]() ![]() KEY ELEMENT CHANGED: The family: there's only 3 daughters, no brothers. THE Rs: Both are more simplified than in the tale, there's a kiss. ![]() Pre-Raphaelite style, oil & watercolours on geso panels.ĬURSE: "A mischievous faerie" did it, the reason is implied.
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