Ms. Rubinstein's Beauty Book

It’s a message we learn in childhood, but all too quickly forget: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” “Beauty is only skin deep.” With its incandescent paintings and imaginative text, Ms. Rubinstein’s Beauty shows us just how true these timeless sayings can be. Children will be enchanted…and surprised at every turn.
“Ms. Rubenstein is a beautiful woman. But nobody knows it.” No—they don’t notice her wonderful eyes, delicate hands, graceful feet, and kind heart. Something a little strange, a little distracting about her captures their attention instead. But one man—himself a bit out of the ordinary—thinks she’s the vision of loveliness.
Pep Montserrat has created a gorgeous tribute to love that looks beyond the obvious—and a picture book as special as its two main characters.

Children's Literature

This quaint book is perhaps best characterized as a fable about the importance of looking beyond appearances. The heroine, we are told, is a beautiful woman, but no one knows it. We are shown close-ups of the features—from her very beautiful eyes to the "delicate harmony of her pretty hands, or the special grace that her small feet give to the way she walks." We are more than half way through the book before we learn what everyone is so busy looking at when they see Ms. Rubenstein, Bearded Lady of Circus Balius. The only one not distracted is the elegantly mannered Mr. Pavlov, the Elephant nosed man of Circus Guston. Monserrat's illustrations in red and sepia tones have a wonderful feel of Arte Moderne. It is likely that both the tale and the illustrations are a bit sophisticated for preschoolers, but there is no upper age limit for those who might enjoy this witty and wry offering by the illustrator of other tales, such as Aladdin's Lamp.