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.

In this remarkable retelling of Beauty and the Beast, award-winning illustrator Pat Cummings creates an enchanted fairy-tale world flavored by the art, architecture, and culture of West Africa, while writer H. Chuku Lee stays true to the story of this beloved classic. With breathtaking palatial settings inspired by the Dogon tribe of Mali and dazzling costumes reminiscent of the clothing seen on Cummings’s own trip to Africa, Beauty and the Beast becomes so much more than just a story–it’s a visual and cultural experience. When her father is taken prisoner by a fearsome Beast, Beauty begs the captor to take her instead. The Beast agrees, locking her away in his palace. Though he will give her whatever her heart desires–jewels, gowns, her own living quarters–she is forbidden to leave. Over time, however, Beauty sees the gentler side of the Beast, and an unexpected bond forms. But will it be strong enough to break a curse that threatens the Beast’s life? Supports the Common Core State Standards