Disney's Beauty and the Beast by A. L. Singer

The classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast has been given the unique Disney touch in Disney's latest animated film.
   A rude and coldhearted young prince refuses to help a poor beggar woman who can only offer him a rose in return for shelter.   The woman, an enchantress in disguise, transforms him into an ugly beast, condemned to a life of gloom.   The Beast's only hope of breaking the spell is to give--and earn--love before the last petal falls from the magical rose the enchantress leaves behind.   Not only is the prince under a spell but so, too, are the other residents of the castle.
   In a small village near the Beast's castle lives the beautiful Belle. Surely one of the most spirited women in Disney's history, Belle dreams of a life full of romance and adventure, far away from her provinical town--and far away from Gaston, the brawny blowhard who relentlessly pursues her.
   When Belle's beloved father, Maurice, becomes the unwitting prisoner of the Beast in his castle, she courageously offers to become the Beast's lifelong captive in return for her father's freedom.
   The enchanted objects of the castle, led by Lumiere, a dashing candelabra, and Cogsworth, a stately mantel clock, see Belle's arrival as an opportunity for the spell to be broken.   But friendship between the tender, well-mannered Belle and the angry, unkempt Beast seems highly unlikely, and the prospect of love impossible. The story of how the pair first earn each other's respect, then love, is at once funny and moving.
   Brilliant, full-colour paintings capture the mood of each spellbinding moment and promise pleasures anew for the whole family each time the book is opened.