Interactive children's fiction. [Beauty and the Beast by Jessica Gunderson]

An interesting cover drew me in to request Jessica Gunderson's Beauty and the Beast. And as the book highlight, the story is a classic. So it's no surprise that appealing illustrations were the first thing to catch my eye. Thais Damião's artwork brought be back to a new retelling.

The classic story of youngest and (supposed) morally best daughter falling in love with a cursed beast prince with glaring entitlement issues has been told many times over. Here the characterization is even more streamlined. Beauty's sisters are even named Gritty and Petty, with a strong dislike for their sister, just because. There are holes in the plot logic. Beauty's father is caught stealing, and the offended party, Beast, just generally chides him in response. Maybe an implied threat to get the authorities involved is enough for the father to barter his daughter away.

The classic tale has so many problematic and weak plot points. Beast is a prince, but prince of what? What is the state of his kingdom as his enchantment continues. Is he governing by correspondence? In this graphic novel are we to understand he lives in this castle alone? Where are the gowns Beauty wears coming from? He was cursed but his castle upkeep is great and he has magic items? A lot of questions. A 34 page eBook, Beauty and the Beast doesn't address these issues. To the point, I'd say there's an underlying assumption of pre-existing familiarity with the tale. If not, the story is a bit too sparse to really feel complete.

With reading prompts and writing prompts, this graphic novel is likely best used as a teaching tool for schoolchildren. Discussion and critical thinking are encouraged and instructions for a fun craft project ends the book. An orthodox graphic novel panel structure, preceded by a how-to for graphic novels, simplifies reading for younger audiences and adds narration and context to this quick retelling. 3 stars from me.