Snow White by Sally Gardner

Snow White by Sally Gardner
Buy Snow White by Sally Gardner at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Ali Baker
Summary: A faithful retelling of the well-known story, retold as a chapter book for children just beginning to read independently, richly illustrated.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 80	Date: June 2011
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1444002430
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Having read many retellings of Grimms' tales, it is refreshing to read one that expands the story familiar into six short chapters while remaining faithful to the original narrative. Gardner adds some detail to the story (the Seven Dwarfs try to protect Snow White by inventing some alarm systems to warn of the queen's approach, and Snow White is making an apple pie when the queen disguised as an old woman arrives with the poisoned apple) but does not remove or prettify the more violent aspects of the story; the huntsman kills a deer and persuades the queen that its heart is Snow White's, and the queen is smashed to smithereens on rocks as she tries to escape from the dwarfs . The prince arriving and Snow White returning to life after the piece of poisoned apple is jolted from her mouth is the resolution to the story, but the dwarfs being the guests of honour at the wedding is a nice touch.

The book is well designed to appeal to children who are just beginning to read independently; there are illustrations on every page, some breaking up the text and some framing it. The illustrations are in rich, jewel-like colours when the action is taking place in the castle, dark and threatening in the wood, and in muted, earthy tones in the dwarfs' house, well complementing the story. Children will enjoy these touches. This is a sturdy book; the paper quality is that of a picture book, but it is the size of a paperback, just right for small hands to hold. It would stand up to a Primary classroom and would make an ideal book for group guided reading sessions.

There are no more than four to six lines of text on each page, with short sentences, and while some of the vocabulary could be challenging to children (for example the wedding was magnificent), the support of the familiar story will make reading the book an enjoyable experience, and would be a pleasure to read aloud to children. This book is one of a series entitled Magical Princesses which include familiar stories such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and less familiar, such as The Frog Prince, and I will certainly be looking out for them.

Sally Gardner is an award-winning author and illustrator, who won the Nestle prize and Carnegie Medal in 2005 for I, Coriander.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion:

In this series: Cinderella by Sally Gardner.

Another fun read for an early reader: Ruggles by Anne Fine and Ruth Brown

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