Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast was first published in 1978, written by American children's book author Robin McKinley. It was her first book, retelling the classic French fairy tale "La Belle et La Bete". The book was the 1998 Phoenix Award honor book. It was the 1966 -1988 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults. An unabridged audio-book recording was released by Recorded Books in 2013, narrated by Charlotte Parry, and is currently available via Audible.com. Roderick Huston, a wealthy merchant and
Beauty and the Beast (Disney song) "TV Guide" compared "Beauty and the Beast" to "Shall We Dance?" from the musical "The King and I". R.L. Shaffer of IGN identified "Beauty and the Beast" as a "tear-jerking poetic ballad." "Film Genre 2000: New Critical Essays" author Wheeler W. Dixon believes that the song's lyrics are about the couple's "implicit promise of regeneration through love." 29 lines in length, all of which are exactly five syllables, "Beauty and the Beast" is a love song about a couple's transformation from friends into "something more". The film's theme song, its lyrics "capture the essence of the film" by describing the