The Snow Queen

Natacha Godeau

Book - 2013

When her friend Kay is kidnapped by the mysterious Snow Queen, Gerda decides to look for him wherever her search might take her.

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
Paris, France : Auzou [2013]
Language
English
French
Main Author
Natacha Godeau (author)
Other Authors
Giorgio Baroni (illustrator), Susan Allen Maurin (translator), H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen, 1805-1875 (-)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 31 cm
ISBN
9782733825303
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Italian illustrator Baroni's background in character design brings a fantasy aesthetic to Godeau's retelling of this Andersen fairy tale. Kay and Gerda are drawn as older children with lean features and blousy peasant clothing; Gerda's hair often blows dramatically in the wind. Godeau follows Andersen's original closely, though the translation is graceless in places: "But, the weight of the mirror caused his arms to fiercely shake." Godeau recounts Kay's enchantment as he is pierced and frozen by shards of a magic mirror and then captured by the Snow Queen. Gerda's journey to the North to find Kay is told as a series of episodic encounters with colorful characters: a sorceress, a talking reindeer, and many more. Baroni's most remarkable creation is the Snow Queen's black castle, shown on the endpapers; soaring up from two mountain peaks, it features a dizzying aerial bridge and dozens of lit windows. For an older audience, this is a version of the tale that offers a bit of an edge, visually bridging the worlds of classic fairy tales and game culture. Ages 7-up. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-4-Greatly abbreviated, this is a fairly faithful summary of Andersen's lengthy tale of childhood friendship disrupted and regained through evil forces, magic, and forbearance. Small changes lend a bit of coherence in introducing the complex array of players and events in Kay's disappearance and Gerda's protracted search for him. With the elimination of Andersen's long descriptions and explanations, there's a tighter focus on the children. The story here is mostly Gerda's. The Snow Queen, important though she is, shows up just twice. She lurks outside Kay's window on a dark, snowy night as he experiences the sharp sting of the shattered mirror bits entering his eye and heart. "He was whizzing down a small street when a feeling of horror came over him. A woman in a white cloak approached him...it was the Snow Queen." She kisses Kay, his memory disappears, his body turns to ice, and away they fly. Gerda finally encounters him "standing in the cracked surface of a frozen lake" and frees him with her tears. Translated smoothly from a French version, the narrative is a bit wooden, providing a quick sketch of the far more robust story. Baroni's spreads in dark tones create a dreamlike aura with more focused figures in sweeping, often shadowy, nighttime settings. Kay's final realization "that the greatest gifts in life were those Gerda had given him-friendship and love" succinctly echoes Andersen's romantic tone, sparing readers the more extended religious explication. This competent retelling should be enjoyed by fairy tale enthusiasts.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.