Beauty and the Beast

Description: Through her great capacity to love, a kind and beautiful maid releases a handsome prince from the spell which has made him an ugly beast.

Brief description:

Pat Cummings was born in Chicago but grew up traveling with her military family all over the world. She has been writing and illustrating children's books since she graduated from Pratt Institute and is the author and/or illustrator of more than forty books. In addition to her art for the Coretta Scott King Award winner My Mama Needs Me by Mildred Pitts Walter, Pat's luminous work includes Angel Baby; Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon!; and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Talking With Artists. She teaches children's book illustration and writing at Parsons School of Design, the New School, and Pratt Institute. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can visit her online at www.patcummings.com.

Review Quotes:

"Ethnically rich retelling. Readers who attend to detail will delight." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Beauty's appearance will draw readers of color who long for fairy tale heroines who look more like themselves...Unexpectedly powerful." - Publishers Weekly

"Lushly detailed paintings. The retelling is crisp, the drafting is skillful, and the compositions are dramatic. - The Horn Book

"Beautifully executed illustrations with influences from ancient Dogon buildings of Mali. Lee's retelling provid[es] a fresh approach that demands consideration for all collections." - School Library Journal