Beauties and Beasts

Hearne has provided Beauty and the Beast fans and teachers with two valuable resources. Her first book, Beauty and the Beast : Visions and Revisions of an Old Tale, discusses the history and various versions of the tale. This book, Beauties and Beasts, is a collection of tales that are related to the well-known Beauty and the Beast tale. The tales come from various cultures and periods in history. Hearne provides short discussions of the tales, but mostly allows them to speak for themselves. The stories are suitable for all ages so the book will work well in the classroom, library or at home. The book emphasizes humanity's similarities and differences across time and space by presenting a small collection of its folklore.