Early Reader Review: Beauty and the Beast by Jessica Gunderson

Source: From Netgalley and Picture Window Books in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Beauty and the Beast by Jessica Gunderson, illustrated by Thais Damião 
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Publication Date:  August 1, 2020

 

Format: Ebook

Rating:






Goodreads Synopsis: 

Revisit the tale of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty's father gets lost in the woods and stumbles onto a castle. He reaches for a rose to bring to his daughter--but there's a price. Will Beauty win her freedom, or be trapped in the Beast's castle forever?

Review: 
I really enjoy fairy tale retellings and adaptations, so when I see them available for review I generally jump at the chance to read them and love them. This one was less of a hit for me than normal. 

This retelling of Beauty and the Beast was a very simplified version of the story we all know. it seemed too quickly paced and it did not leave any time for character development or even the love between Beauty and the Beast to really form... which is the point of the original story. I don't think I have ever read the original, but this tale included Beauty having two sisters, kind of like the Cinderella sisters, they were rude, self-centered, and snooty and they made Beauty seem like the loving soul she is. This addition was both interesting but also a bit strange. The focus was on Beauty's family a lot more than I think should have been in this shortened and simplified version.

Things that I liked about this book were the illustration. They were bold and eye catching which is great for younger and reluctant readers. There was also a tutorial in the beginning of the book instructing on how to read comics and graphic novels for beginners - LOVED this aspect. 

While not the best retelling for me, I believe that this graphic novel will be great for younger readers, reluctant readers, and maybe even those learning English as a second language.