Classic Storybook Fables: Including ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and Other Favorites

Gustafson follows Classic Bedtime Stories and other compilations with an eye-catching collection of eight short stories (Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling,” Aesop’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and the Scandinavian tale “The Boy Who Went to the North Wind,” among others), which he retells in lyrical, accessible language. Lush paintings appear throughout, and Gustafson subtly tailors his images to the mood of each story. Gauzy, romantic images in “Beauty in the Beast” cast the Beast as a brooding, leonine figure in an opulent, candlelit palace. The eye of a richly feathered crow gleams with satisfaction in “The Crop and the Pitcher.” And Gustafson’s proudly naked emperor is a haughty, strutting pug with a wig worthy of Louis XIV. Readers will be entranced by the striking attention to detail in the artwork accompanying these stories of love, cleverness, and just deserts. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)