Like lots of little girls, I loved Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I watched the heck out of it. Later, I had a brief fascination with Phantom of the Opera. (Okay, still do, if we're being honest, even though it's quite different from the fairy tale.) And then I (finally) discovered BEAUTY and ROSE DAUGHTER by Robin McKinley, which are both retellings of Beauty and the Beast -- and they're very different from each other! It wasn't long before I discovered East of the Sun, West of the Moon and how similar it is to Beauty and the Beast. So I ended up with books like SUN AND MOON, ICE AND SNOW by Jessica Day George, and EAST by Edith Pattou, and I've got ICE by Sarah Beth Durst on my shelf waiting for its turn.
I haven't read all the Beauty and the Beast retellings out there (and likely haven't heard of even most of them); I try to space them out for when I need a fix of a new one. I'm very glad it's such a popular story, though, because the moment when Beauty (or whatever she happens to be going by in that incarnation of the story) realizes that Beast (or whatever he happens to be going by in that incarnation of the story) is not just a beast, but a person who she's grown to love -- oh yes. I love that part so much. I could (and do) read it again and again.
*swoony sigh*
*A Kippy is a cat.
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Jodi Meadows is the author of INCARNATE. (January 31, 2012 - HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books.)
She lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. You can find her on her website and blog.
*A Kippy is a cat.
Jodi, I love this fairy tale too, and I love Robin McKinley's BEAUTY! The only thing that bothers me is that the beast always turns into a handsome prince at the end. I think this is why I appreciate JANE EYRE because Rochester isn't conventionally handsome to begin with, and then at the end he's blind and enfeebled, but Jane still loves him!
ReplyDeleteEve, read ROSE DAUGHTER. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I haven't read JANE EYRE . . . but this makes me want to!
Beauty in the Beast is my 2nd fav. fairy tale. Have you read Beastly by Alex Flinn? If not, you totally should. Much better than the movie they made of it. :)
ReplyDeleteOoo, I haven't read it! I'll have go give it a shot!
ReplyDeleteJodi, just read the synopsis for ROSE DAUGHTER. Looks great! Adding it to my Christmas list...
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