Award-winning team Mahlon and Kinuko Craft bring us a gorgeous and vivid retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast in this stunningly illustrated picture book. The tale is as old as time: A man steals a rose from the garden of a beast. His beautiful daughter sacrifices herself to a life in the beast’s castle to protect her father. The beast and the girl fall in love and live happily ever after… This beloved tale is captured with lyrical prose and lavish illustration. In the spirit of the Crafts’ previous collaborations, their acclaimed fairy-tale retellings of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty , this timeless tale is brought to life with sumptuous paintings and ornamental detail in this lush picture book to be cherished at story time again and again.  Gr 2-5-A sumptuous retelling of this well-known story. An author and illustrator's note explains that the Crafts conducted extensive research before finalizing their own text for this classic tale, examining not only Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's version, which was published in France in 1756, but numerous other retellings as well. What has emerged is an adaptation that effectively captures the mystery and magic of this tale in lyrical language. Some dark elements and the length make this book more appropriate for older elementary students. The illustrations are nothing short of gorgeous. Rendered with miniature sable brushes in oil and watercolor on gesso panels, they are rich in detail and depth of color. There is a certain misty luminosity that carries readers into this forest of illusion. VERDICT Even libraries that own Marianna Mayer's beautiful Beauty and the Beast (Four Winds, 1978) should still consider this enchanting addition.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Effectively captures the mystery and magic of this tale in lyrical language. The illustrations are nothing short of gorgeous. There is a certain misty luminosity that carries readers into this forest of illusion. - School Library Journal Lovely Beauty, dry your eyes. In this place no danger lies, For when you have a wish or need, You have only to ask and I must heed. A Beauty, beloved for her spirit, a Beast, with a plea for kindness, the spell that encircles them, and the kind of magic only an honest heart may bring . . . The timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast is captured with breathtaking style in this lavishly illustrated story by the award-winning team of Mahlon and Kinuko Craft. In a glorious castle set deep in a mysterious forest, the tale of a father’s fate-filled promise and a daughter’s courage unfolds. In the spirit of the Crafts’ acclaimed fairy-tale retellings of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty , this story, themed on Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s version first published in France in 1756, is filled with sumptuous paintings and ornamental detail. The artist has created wonderfully rich, imaginative scenes. The beloved classic is brilliantly brought to life in this lush picture book to be cherished at story time again and again. Mahlon F. Craft came to writing late in life. Beauty and the Beast is his second published work as an author. He is a graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. After completing postgraduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1960s, he worked as an award-winning art director and graphic designer. Beauty and the Beast is the ninth picture book of his design. Kinuko Y. Craft has won more than one hundred graphic-arts awards, including five gold medals from the Society of Illustrators. In 2008, she was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Her art has been in print for almost half a century, appearing on the covers of such prestigious publications as Time and Newsweek . Her illustrated books on Greek myths and of classic fairy tales have been published in the United States and other English-language countries, and in Europe, China, and Korea. Says Kirkus Reviews , "Every detail of her work—the flowers by a spring, a red cloak unfurled against a blue sky, moonlight on a tiger's back—is beautifully rendered." Beauty and the Beast is her ninth illustrated book.