Beauty and the Beast

Description

A captivating retelling of the nation's favourite fairy tale, from the nation's favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo. After encountering a fearsome beast at a mysterious palace, down-on-his-luck merchant Marco is forced to make a promise in exchange for his life: he must persuade one of his three daughters to return to the palace in his place - but she must come of her own free will. Beautiful, kind-hearted Belle agrees at once to return to the palace, and there she and the Beast exist companionably, with the Beast asking of Belle the same question at the end of each day: "Dearest Belle, will you marry me?" After a return home to consult with her father, Belle resolves to follow her heart and return to the Beast, but her plans are thwarted by the trickery of her jealous sisters. When, at last, Belle is able to find her way back to the palace, she finds her beloved Beast lying as still as death on the ground. As Belle's tears fall on his face, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince - the ancient spell upon him broken by Belle's tears of true love...

Michael Morpurgo OBE is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children. He has written over 100 books and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Whitbread Award. His recent bestselling novels include 'Shadow', 'A Medal for Leroy' and 'Little Manfred'. His novel 'War Horse' has been successfully adapted as a West End and Broadway theatre play and a major film by Steven Spielberg. A former Children's Laureate, Michael is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children. Loretta Schauer is the illustrator of Beauty and the Beast, written by Michael Morpurgo, A Monster's Moved In, written by Timothy Knapman, and A Very Corgi Christmas, written by Sam Hay, along with a number of fiction titles, including the Dougal Daley Series, written by Jackie Marchant. She won the Waterstones 'Picture This' competition in 2011. Loretta lives with her husband in London.

Praise for Michael Morpurgo: "Michael Morpurgo writes brilliantly about war and animals, conveying the big emotions without preaching." - The Guardian "Champagne quality over a wide range of subjects." - Daily Telegraph "There are few children's writers as compelling as Michael Morpurgo." - Daily Express "Morpurgo's gift is to make this long-ago world of danger and heartbreak accessible without ever patronising his young readers." - Sunday Mercury "Morpurgo, as always, is subtle and skillful, and incorporates social and moral issues into his writing without being self-righteous or detracting from the quality of the narrative" Elizabeth Reilly - British Council "The former children's laureate has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers." -The Guardian.