Product Description

In a dark forest, a merchant picks a rose for his daughter Beauty. It belongs to a terrible beast. To save his life, the merchant promises that his daughter will visit the creature. When she does, Beauty grows to like the beast. But can she ever love him?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #550300 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781434208613
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Luke Feldman is an illustrator, animator, and designer from Australia. For more than 10 years, he has worked on high-profile projects for large corporations such as Microsoft and Coca Cola. He has also worked closely with the Australian education department, developing animations and interactive games for children.

Customer Reviews

An Early Primer in a Graphic Novel Format - Worth Checking Out!
This is an interesting little book. The story is "Beauty and the Beast" but not the modern Disney-fied version. Instead it harkens back to the original where there are selfish sisters and a dad that promises to send Beauty to see The Beast, if only The Beast won't eat him. (He's not kept captive, you see)

In this version, Beauty traipses off to see The Beast after her father arrives home. The two hang out and then, after awhile, she tells Beast that she misses her family, whereupon they agree she should go, promising to return in one week. What Beauty doesn't know as she departs is that all promises are binding in the castle. And that if she doesn't return within the allotted time that The Beast will die.


Even with these small changes, the story will be fairly familiar to most of us who have heard it before. And in that sense, this book is likely to be a success with it's target audience. Where it might not succeed would be with children who aren't that familiar with story, or with children who are ready for a more detailed version. This one, you see, is rather short and rather light on continuity. You would think the story could be told in 40 pages, but in truth there isn't a great deal of text per page-- little more than a sentence or two -- and perhaps that's what accounts for the lapses.


Talking Points:::
This book is at the AR 2.6 level, which means that this is a graphic novel in a more simple form than you might be picturing in your mind. Luke Feldman's artwork is simple and appropriate for youngsters. The Beast is interesting without being scary, and the drawings are more cartoonish than anime. Sort of on the order of Dora the Explorer if done in darker tones.

"Beauty and the Beast: The Graphic Novel" would be fine for reading aloud to very young children. The cartoon appearance will probably catch their eye. Kindergarteners and slightly older children who read above grade level should like it as well as the book tells a story without having tons of text to dissuade them.

Older Children and adults aren't going to be as happy with the tale as it doesn't have any 'meat' to it. There's no real character development and no depth. Plus, the story is told in a rather sketchy way.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews