Mahlon F. Craft

As per usual with retold fariytales, the narrative of this book is nothing really special. The author sticks to a relatively Disney-fied version - only giving the 13th/evil fairy less power outside of her curse and the 12th fairy (who alter the curse) a fancy dragon. The illustrations are quite nice though, and give the story a wonderfully Rennaisance Italy kind of feel. THe princess is typically blonde, but she reminds me very much of the youngest Borgia daughter and therefore fits the scenery quite well. Craft has a definite mastery of her medium since the illustrations are very highly detailed and it is hard not to be impressed by her careful attention to costuming and architecture.… (meer)

I loved this rendition of beauty and the beast. It tells the tale of an old fortunate man and his three daughters. Once the man had no more money, he came upon a castle in which he entered. He feasted and slept and the next day took a rose before he left. The beast scolded him saying how selfish he was and sentenced him to life as his prisoner. The next step Beauty took was unexpected of her to save her father. This book will be included in my children's library in my classroom. The art is too magnificent not to have a copy of this book.… (meer)

Author Mahlon F. Craft and illustrator Kinuko Craft, whose earlier collaboration on Sleeping Beauty was a triumph of fairy-tale retelling and artwork, join forces again for this gorgeous picture-book version of Beauty and the Beast. Based upon the version of this story set down by Mme. Jean-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756 (itself based upon an earlier tale published by Mme. de Villeneuve in 1740), this retelling follows the traditional outline of the story, in which an impoverished merchant moves with his daughters to the countryside, in order to retrench, and to live more frugally. When good fortune seems to smile on the family again, the merchant's daughters all clamor for rich gifts - all save Beauty, who asks only for a rose. The procurement of that rose proves costly however, and Beauty finds herself taking her father's place at a terrible beast's castle, deep in the woods. Here not is all as it seems, and slowly the magic of love begins to work a change on our heroine...

Beauty and the Beast, perhaps the best-known example of the 'enchanted bridegroom' tale - type 425C in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther folklore classification system - is one of my absolute favorite fairy-tales, so I was simply delighted to learn, earlier this year, that a new picture-book retelling by Kinuko Craft, one of my absolute favorite fairy-tale illustrators, was due out this July. I am even more thrilled that I had a chance to look at an advanced readers copy today - thank you indeed to the colleague who provided it to me, as it is a joy to peruse! The retelling is a capable one, but the true joy (as expected) was the lush artwork, which Craft has apparently been working on for over a decade. The initial painting, which shows the country cottage to which the merchant and his daughters have withdrawn, reminded me a bit of the tiny house in What Miranda Knew, one of the formative titles of my early childhood. With that initial positive association, things only went from good to better. The colors used are vibrant without being garish, and each scene is a delight, in every intricate detail. The settings, whether garden or palace, are simply gorgeous - the two-page spread in which Beauty discovers the theatre left me simply breathless at its magnificence - as are the costumes. Beast himself is rather interesting - part bear, part leopard, part boar - and Beauty is lovely (of course). Craft ably captures the enchantment of the tale, but she also captures the emotion, whether it be the tender scene in which Beauty and her father embrace, or the poignant one in which she finds the dying Beast. Strongly recommended to all fairy-tale fans, as well as to admirers of Kinuko Craft's work!… (meer)