Beauty & the Beast (Young Reading Level 2) [Paperback] Louie Stowell

Beauty and the Beast is one of the coolest fairy tales, with a powerful emotional punch and a lot of psychological complexity. It's also become an enduring fictional archetype in its own right, surfacing in disguise in King Kong and elsewhere, immortalised in film by Cocteau and Disney. This re-telling works really well, with Louie Stowell distilling all the poignancy and charm of the original(s) into her short, bittersweet narrative. There are magical rings and mirrors, deceits and double crosses, and a cool come-uppance for Beauty's selfish sisters.