Beauty and the Beast: A Classic West African Fairy Tale for Children (Ages 4-8) About an Enchanted Palace and a Broken Spell

by H. Chuku Lee, Pat Cummings (Illustrator)

In this remarkable retelling of Beauty and the Beast, award-winning illustrator Pat Cummings creates an enchanted fairy-tale world flavored by the art, architecture, and culture of West Africa, while writer H. Chuku Lee stays true to the story of this beloved classic. With breathtaking palatial settings inspired by the Dogon tribe of Mali and dazzling costumes reminiscent of the clothing seen on Cummings's own trip to Africa, Beauty and the Beast becomes so much more than just a story--it's a visual and cultural experience.

When her father is taken prisoner by a fearsome Beast, Beauty begs the captor to take her instead. The Beast agrees, locking her away in his palace. Though he will give her whatever her heart desires--jewels, gowns, her own living quarters--she is forbidden to leave. Over time, however, Beauty sees the gentler side of the Beast, and an unexpected bond forms. But will it be strong enough to break a curse that threatens the Beast's life?

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Africa, Childrens, Beauty and The Beast, Folklore, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 11, 2014

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely retelling of the classic fairytale with people of color. The artwork is beautiful and I love changing the culture the story is set in. The story is well told and does a great job making this a beginning story.

It’s not the Disney version, but the original Anderson. Beauty loves roses and look what that starts.

The nephew loves this story, but he wondered why it was different from the movie. I simply told him there are different versions and this is more like the original. He likes the movie version better with moving objects instead of invisible servants. He missed Lumiaire and Cogsworth. It was 3 stars for him.

[Donalyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Changing the setting to West Africa, but keeping the original story without any cultural changes confused me.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my least favorite fairy tales (he's keeping me captive - I think I love him!) but if you want a version you can read in one sitting, this works. I love seeing fairy tales with non-European settings and princesses without typically pale skin. This is great to include in any fairy tale unit, along with books by Rachel Isadora and "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters".

[Marquise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, this retelling could've done better by just picking any of the African versions of "Beauty and the Beast" instead of just taking the French original and smacking some West African ethnic imagery into it. That's as bad as painting someone's face and putting them in costume dress and pretending that'll be representative of a culture's take on this subject. What a lack of imagination! And the art isn't that striking as to compensate for this writing fail.

[Kaitlyn Drahos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book while researching Beauty and the Beast retellings. I was intrigued by illustration and writing style of the cover. The main character doesn’t look anything like the “Beauty” I have planted in my mind from Disney. This story is set in West Africa and features a few tweaks on the well-known story. It was very interesting to see how this story played out. I think this book would be awesome paired with other variations in mid to upper elementary (2nd-5th grade?) to work on comparing and contrasting the same stories! There are many similarities but also lots of differences to be found.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, prior to this story, the only Beauty and the Beast tale that I was familiar with was Disney's adaption. Therefore, the plot of this story differs greatly from my knowledge.

In this version, Beauty is the youngest of 4 daughters and her father who is a merchant gets lost on his travels and spends a night in an enchanted castle. Beauty had asked for a rose from his trip so he cut one from the castle's garden; the next thing the Beast is there telling him that the roses are incredibly important and the man will have to spend the rest of his life at the castle. However, the man is allowed to return home. Beauty hears this and insists on going with her father and then takes his place.

The Beast is very kind to Beauty in this version and repeatedly asks her to marry him to which she refuses. When her father falls ill the Beast allows Beauty to go back, but tells her that if she does not come back to the castle he will die of a broken heart. After originally breaking the promise, Beauty returns and saves the Beast from dying who then turns into a handsome prince.

What I especially liked about this story were the illustrations. The illustrator and author created the entire plot to follow that of people from Africa. The clothing, architecture of the castle, have a very majestic, traditional feel that makes me feel like I stepped into Africa.. The details on even the horse's harness are impressive and the illustrator captures the expressions and feelings of the characters perfectly.

I love that the author and illustrator chose to pick to non Anglo-Saxon culture for their characters and setting because it helps show children who are of a different ancestry that they can be the princess (or prince) in a classic tale as well.

I do think that this book would best be used when doing a study on different traditional tales; it would also be interesting to compare this tale to an African adaption of other classic tales like Cinderella.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work in kindergarten as a mentor, which always gives me so many stories to tell. This is one that really gets me:

One day, during lunch, the little ones asked if I could tell them a story. I asked them if they had ever heard of Beauty and the Beast, which they have thanks to Disney. I asked, "Would you like to hear the original version?" They all clamored for seats, and I began my (rather rough) storytelling session. I had them all wondering what would happen next, when the beast would appear, when Belle would go to the castle. We had to end early because lunch was over, but they did want to hear the rest at some point.

Later on in the day, we went to library where this book was sitting on top of the shelf. I've always wanted to read it since I saw it at a Scholastic Book Fair. Lo and behold, one of my little african american girls ran up to it and immediately took it out. She asked if we could read it together, so the two of us sat in a big comfy chair. As I was reading out loud, a whole slew of wee ones gathered to hear it, too.

Let me just tell you, having a traditionally European fairy tale told with characters of color is so very moving and important. Having many of my kids able to visually identify with these characters was critically important as well. And, I just want to thank everyone involved in making this book happen. We need diverse texts so, so badly. Thank you.

Minor criticism I have would be that the wording was a bit disjointed at times, and a bit too formal in some moments, so I had to modify for younger readers. Other than that, we all thoroughly enjoyed it, especially seeing the intricate illustrations (they all gasped when Belle was in her finest dress). Again: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Sarah Bahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

H. Chuku Lee and his wife Pat Cummings collaborated on this book to bring a West African twist to the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. Pat Cummings took notes from the Dogon tribe of Mali to create the classic characters of Beauty, her family, and the Beast. Her intricate details of their clothing and jewelry were true to the Mali tribe. She used colored pencil to create detailed illustrations, which gave life to the fur of the Beast. The emotions were clear in the characters' faces, especially when Beauty denied the Beast's proposal for the first time. H. Chuku Lee stayed true to the classic story, but told it from the perspective of Beauty instead of in a third person narrator. This allowed the reader to hear Beauty's feelings and emotions firsthand. For example, she stated, "I realized that he was truly kind and would not hurt me. I began to look forward to his warm presence and friendly conversation each night." Another difference from this story to the other versions is that the Beast's servants are invisible, however, if you look carefully at the illustrations, many of the furniture in his home has faces. This includes the chair at the table, the poles in the bedroom, and the art on the walls. This is only clear to the reader who looks closely at the illustrations, which will be enjoyable for children to spot while reading this book. I could see this book being used in the classroom to compare and contrast with other versions of this classic tale, as it follows the usual plot line but the setting is quite different than most versions.

[Dulce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This retell of the classic fairy tale, told from the point of view of Beauty, is a fast paced, child friendly story of how friendship and love can bloom in an unexpected situation. When father returns from a business trip and tells his four daughters that he is now prisoner of a Beast because he took a flower from his garden for Beauty, Beauty feels terribly guilty about this and takes her father's place as prisoner instead. At the castle, she is treated kindly by the Beast and his invisible servants and given many riches but is never allowed to leave. As their friendship grows, the Beast falls in love and asks Beauty to marry him, but she refuses. When father becomes ill, the Beast allows her to leave and return of her own free will, finally, when away from the castle, Beauty realizes how much she truly cares for the Beast and returns to his side.
What makes this version so different from other tales are the beautifully detailed illustrations by award winning illustrator Pat Cummings, who draws her inspiration from West Africa, and provides for the reader a beautiful visual of African clothing, architecture, and art. She was also very careful to not make the Beast a hideous creature that would frighten children, but instead more of a gentle human like animal that is always well dressed to fit his previous statues in life.
This story would be enjoyed by students in K-3, and would be of great use in the classroom when teaching retelling, central message, and compare and contrast between different texts.

[La'Tina Redmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beauty and the Beast, a West African retelling,by H. Chuku Lee, is a tale of a father and his daughters. The father goes on a business trip to the city and as promised, he wanted to bring his daughter a rose back. Before returning back home he grabbed a rose out the garden of a beast who said he would have to pay with his life. After pleading for his life the beast said he may return home to say goodbye to his family and return to the palace. Feeling guilty the daughter said she would return with her father because she is the one who asked for the rose. She ends up staying with the beast alone and as time passed she grew to love him. She then was able to return home for a week and broke her promise by staying two weeks. When she returned she found the beast dying and confessed her love. The beast then turned into a handsome prince.

This story follows the basic plot of a Beauty and the Beast tale and has many symbolic elements such as the rose, a daughter’s sacrifice and the falling in love with a beast who turns into a prince.

This story can be used to tell the story from a different perspective since beauty is telling the story in first person.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chuku Lee's version of Beauty and the Beast is an overdue staple for libraries all over the world. Children need to see beauty in all races and ethnicities. Chuku does a brilliant job of depicting Beauty in a positive light with striking artwork that does the African culture justice. The traditional attire and decorations used in the text add flavor and enrichment to this traditional story. The use of bold colors and the attention to detail is what makes this version so fun. The details in the characters clothing, jewelry, head pieces and especially hair are beautiful. The only reason I didn't give a higher rating was because I would have loved for the author to reinvent the story with this beautiful setting. Having the same story with these beautiful characters just seemed a little disappointing. Overall, I would recommend this book to add a multicultural option to all classroom libraries and teach lessons of love, kindness, understanding and acceptance.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This retelling of the fairytale has Beauty telling her story in the first person and watercolor, gouache, pencil and pastel artwork depicts her as an African princess.

I loved the artwork, it was so rich with details! The text was a different story; there were pages that were very well written and others that lacked detail. I needed a reason why Beast was dying and more details about how the bond was developed between Beauty and the Beast. The ending felt rushed to me in that Beauty makes up her mind and then all is right with the world and everyone is happy about it too. I liked the inclusion of the refrain "...I could not leave!" This effect makes the title a better read aloud than some previous versions which can be pretty lengthy.

Overall, this version is worth looking at, especially for its bold artistic choices. PreK-2.

[Zandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vibrant, beautiful illustrations save this lackluster retelling of this childhood classic.

[Paulette Bogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! The illustrations are gorgeous and the story flows beautifully. Great teamwork. What a great retelling. I am a fan of Pat Cummings work and this one knocks it out of the park.

[Turrean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures; bland retelling of the traditional European version.

[Jessie Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty straightforward adaptation in terms of story. The use of first person is unusual for a fairy tale, but it works here. Meh source note. The real triumph of this book, though, is the West African-inspired art, which is a sumptuous feast of color, shape, and detail. The eyes watching Beauty from various pieces of furniture inside the castle are an especially nice touch. And Beauty's gold rose-embroidered wedding outfit on the last page is stunning.

[Maria Cuenca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprising for me, it shows the traditional tale but from a different culture (Africa) published in 2014 written by H. Chuku Lee and illustrated by Pat Cummings. I love how the illustrator used watercolor, gouache, pencil, and pastel 300-lb to represent all the emotions in the story. I also liked how the beast was more like a beast and not a bear in this book. I would use it with grades 3-5, teaching about character traits and traditional fairy tales. The girl in the story decided to take her father's place to be captured by the Beast. Do you think Beauty’s feelings for the Beast will change at the end of the story? After he captured and forbade her to leave his palace? I strongly suggest reading this book to find out.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

My poor sweet husband pointed out this book without thinking and as such I just had to read it before we left the library. The book carried promise as well a murmur of something different but when you actually got into the gist of it, it was a complete failure in my opinion. Meanwhile I think it is a failure of many readers of this book who think that such shoddy work should be used to help diversify classroom and other such readings when there are books out there like "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters".

I was excited when I found the narrator of the story to be our protagonist and as such it was a bit new on its telling. But unfortunately since it is also told from our heroine's viewpoint there is a higher expectation from me as a reader that the story I will be told will make sense while at the same time be a wonderful variation of a story that I have read or watched numerous times over.

Instead the book was a failure to me for so many reasons. First the story was basically a retelling of the original known European telling and as such it fit the formula of the selfish sisters, the request of a simple rose, the protagonist's switch with her father, etc. There was no cultural references to make the story apart from the original, nothing to give it anything but a European flair by text or even make it unique.

The Africanized details were in the dressing of Beauty's family who was wearing traditional garb, the face paint of the Beast, some of the artwork within the Beast's castle and the Egyptian sphinxes that decorated the fountain in the courtyard. The rose itself was peach-colored while faces could be found throughout the caste and the hedges were trimmed into some shape that could have been either a hyena or a jackal - couldn't quite tell.

Other artistic details were too European such as the castle in my opinion and the dresses that Beauty wore (I could promise that one was based off the Disney Tiana with a few twists). Also Beauty's skin complexion seems much too light for her being totally African while the Beast himself appears to be more of a werewolf-type rather than like a lion or any other African-based animal.

The writing, itself, was lackluster with frequent places that felt like the story skipped something of importance to continue on its merry yet brief way. As such I found myself turning back to the page before it just to make sure whether there was a connection that I had missed or not. In other places the thought process of Beauty was stripped thus leaving the reader with an undeveloped insight into how her feelings were changing. Yes she said that she liked him since he was nice but what nice things did he do to change her mind? What were the main things that caught her attention then held them there? Why are we denied even deeper thoughts to understand our protagonist?

And finally my last bone or two were at the end. The reader is told the only one who could break the spell was a beautiful woman had to fall in love with the Beast. Why couldn't she have been plain or even ugly? Although Disney and all other variations make their protagonist beautiful to fit the name why did it have to be emphasized within this book since wasn't this book suppose to break barriers from what so many have said?

I won't even attempt to mention the disappointing and rushed ending neither....

All in all it was a disappointment and a mockery to read this variation while I won't be recommending this read to anyone even for racial diversification causes. There are definitely better books out there and you don't need diversification to reach readers but a great classical book that can take you past all the human restrictions to immerse you within its pages.

[SaranjaH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauty and the Beast, by H. Chuku Lee, is a beautiful and unique retelling of the classic fairytale which features an African protagonist and prince. It is told with a kind of patience that allows for a well-developed story to take place, using interesting, detailed language and gorgeous illustrations. I located the book after scrolling through reviews of various versions on the Good Reads website. Upon seeing the cover, I remembered that I have this book in my classroom library but had never read it. I received it after purchasing a box of 50 books for $50 on scholastic.com last year. I then googled the author and discovered that the book has received good reviews through Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, among others. I also saw that award-winning illustrator, Pat Cummings, is the illustrator of this book, and I was happy to know that I had a physical copy that I could read.

This tale sticks closely to the original known version, but the setting takes place in an untold part of Africa. The artwork conjures up images reminiscent of ancient Egyptian symbols and West African dynasties. One page features the front lawn of the beast’s palace which shows a lovely fountain with two sphinx-like statues in front of it, and another statue that is similar to that of a phallus. At the wedding of Beauty and the prince, the bridal party is dressed in purple, a color that is often used to represent African royalty. Bushes on the immaculate grounds of the palace are meticulously cut into animal shapes. All of the characters wear traditional African garb, and the female characters wear their hair in natural styles, like cornrows and afros, adorned with beads and jewels.

The characterization of Beauty is strong. The reader gets a great sense of who she is through the use of lots of descriptive language that reveals how she feels and what she thinks about each of her experiences. In one line, she discloses that she is starting to like the beast more each day, stating “I began to look forward to his warm presence and friendly conversation each night.” What also makes this version a standout for young children is that it uses rich vocabulary, thereby, exposing them to a skillful use of language and likely an introduction to a number of unfamiliar words. For example, Beauty describes a meal as “especially sumptuous.” In another scene, she tells the reader that her father “wearily” handed her the rose. Further, in an interesting writing twist, the author uses foreshadowing early in the story when Beauty indicates to the reader on the very first page that she would eventually receive a rose from her father that would change her life and the lives of her family forever.

I highly recommend this version of Beauty and the Beast to be used in K-4 classrooms that have students of African descent. It is important that they see their cultural heritage reflected in books. It is also important for this population of students, particularly girls, to see messages that portray them as beautiful, both inside and out. I would use this book as a mentor text for how to write a personal narrative because of the way in which the author uses dialogue and lots of vivid details to tell the story. I also think it would be great as a read aloud, as well as a wonderful addition to a classroom library.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

H. Chuku Lee’s version of Beauty and the Beast includes illustrations by Pat Cummings. Lee notes Villeneuve as the original author but recognizes that many have been inspired by the tale. He writes that this is their fresh telling of a tale about “love, magic, and the power of a promise.” According to the book jacket, the Beast’s palace is inspired by West Africa and the architecture of the Dogon of Mali, and the other setting and character details fit with this African setting. The plot is very similar to Beaumont’s version, but the main difference is that the father never loses his fortune. Another significant difference is that Beauty is the narrator of the story, so there are no distinctions made between herself and her sister like in Beaumont’s version. I enjoyed the change in setting and a different representation of beauty.

[KatieS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated this retelling of the tradition story because it was told in the first-person perspective. While it followed the traditional story line, it was still nice to hear Beauty's version of the story (even if it was the same) because it made it more personal.

While I'm not sure how authentic the images were, they were striking nonetheless. It was nice seeing a bit of an introduction to the story, as well as people of color represented through this traditional story.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for the artwork; the details are amazing. The "unique" spin of this book is it sets the story in Africa.

Story-wise, it seems to be to be a very classic Beauty and the Beast story - it's not a fractured fairy tale in any way.

My kids voted to give it 5 stars because the artwork was so beautiful.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely Beauty and the Beast story set in Africa!

Ages: 4 - 8

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[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a remarkable retelling of the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. The visual art, and the cultural images make the entire book exotic. How wealthy we are to have access to such a beautiful book!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best summed up as a gorgeous version of Beauty and the Beast set in a fairy tale version of Wakanda.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We got this from the library - a beautifully illustrated version of the classic story; the art has a real African flavor and is really amazing!

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

What beautiful illustrations! The outfits were amazing! I wanted to wear them all!

[Joy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

AR 4.2 with 0.5 pts West Africa

[Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice adaptation, beautiful art.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations shine in this adaptation.