A picture-book retelling of the classic Greek myth, in which Cupid, the god of love and the son of Venus, falls in love with a mortal princess named Psyche. When Psyche is told that she will marry "a creature feared by the gods themselves" she is terrified, but soon discovers that her invisible bridegroom is gentle and loving, and she spends her days in contentment. But a visit from her envious sisters causes Psyche to doubt her new husband, and in a moment of weakness, she betrays his trust. Separated from all she has come to love, the mortal Psyche must accomplish three inhuman tasks, or relinquish all claim on her beloved Cupid...

The tale of Cupid and Psyche is of great antiquity, not only in various oral traditions, but in the written record as well, having first been recorded as part of Apuleius's 2nd century novel, The Golden Ass. It is an ancient variant of the more contemporary Beauty and the Beast tale, and exhibits some striking parallels to Madame le Prince de Beaumont's fairytale of that name.

I collect illustrated fairy tales and myths, and have in my collection a few other versions of this story, which I hope to eventually review here. But I thought I would start with this title, because I am a great fan of Kinuko Craft, the illustrator of this particular retelling. Her paintings are simply gorgeous - colorful, lush, and very detailed - I can look at them for hours. They are terribly romantic, but I do not find them sentimental. Her darker illustrations can be very compelling, as in the full-page depiction of Proserpine. That portrait, as well as the picture of Psyche mourning the loss of Cupid by the lily-pond, are my favorite illustrations in the book.

I also approve of M. Charlotte Craft's narrative, which I found to be a skillful adaptation of a much longer and more complex text, making this wonderful story more accessible to young readers. A note to readers: although this is indeed a Greek myth, the Roman names are used for almost every mythological figure, a function no doubt, of the identity of the first person to write the story down... ( )

This is the story of how Cupid and Psyche became married. It has a lot of ups and downs and is definitely meant for an older, advanced reader. The text is a bit thick but the story is engrossing. This is a good book to include with a unit on mythology. ( )

This is a wonderful love story about the beautiful and brave Psyche and Cupid. This is one of my favorite and most cherished treasures in my own collections of books. I read this to my daughter and she now reads it to her two year old. I would highly recommend this story for all ages. The illustrations in this book are awesome!

Summary: Psyche was the most beautiful daughter of three sisters. Because she was so beautiful she never wed and was very lonely. The goddess Venus was jealous of her beauty and sent her son Cupid to make her fall in love with a monster. Instead, Cupid is touched by one of his arrows and falls in love with Psyche. Psyche has to overcome temptations from her jealous sisters, a jealous Venus, and her own temptations to be able to at the end be with Cupid and become immortal.

Reaction: This was a great Greek Myth and good wins out in the end. It has a happy ending and shows that jealousy leads to a horrible end.

Activity: You could read this for Valentine’s Day and create arrows to hang in the classroom. ( )

Beautiful illustrations in this tale of Cupid and Psyche. This tells the story of Cupid and his mother and 'love' and good/evil in the characters. an interesting book but definitely for older students, would not work well for young readers.