Beauty And The Beast Books

Written by Serena Berger
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Beauty and the Beast books are popular with many children. In some cases, they may have seen the hit Disney movie, or in others, they may have read a traditional version of the fairy tale. Maybe, if you're buying a book for a very young child, the book you buy them will be their introduction to this heartwarming story.

Many parents are particularly happy to give their children Beauty and the Beast books because they feel that the story imparts important values. Beauty (as the title not so much implies as outright states) is a lovely young woman who could (because of her beauty) win any man in her village. She is actually rather shy, and is most comfortable at home taking care of her slightly confused widower father and reading by herself; but in fairy tale world, beautiful girls are expected to marry men with chiseled jaws and lots of money, so the men who fit that description are coming a' knocking at Beauty's door, despite her protestations that she doesn't want to marry any of them.

While this may seem to threaten the feminist ideal, the resolution of the story takes it in a satisfactory direction, as she comes to love the Beast because he is so beautiful inside. If this were Shrek, he wouldn't turn out to be a handsome Prince under a curse; but this is an old school fairy tale, so he does indeed turn into a handsome Prince and they live happily ever after. But she did like him when he was the Beast, and he doesn't try to change her into a silly Princess, so overall this is a fairly positive message to send children with a fairy tale.

Personalized Beauty and the Beast Books

Given the enduring charm of the story, it should come as no surprise that children who would like Beauty and the Beast books might really like a story featuring themselves along with those characters. You might be able to find a story in which your child actually talks to Beauty (a.k.a. Belle) about her decision, making the moral of the story more personal. You could also find a fun adventure story which just happens to feature these characters, appropriate for a child of any age to have read to them, or to read him or herself.

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