Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Lina Sunderland and Daniel Egneus
| Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Lina Sunderland and Daniel Egneus | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Tony Taylor
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| Summary: As soon as you pick this book up, you know you're in for a special treat. Through the words and the illustrations, it's simply beautiful. A must for all Disney’s Frozen fans. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: October 2016 |
| Publisher: Templar Publishing | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1783704187 | |
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A beautiful story of hope, family and love. In the frozen north and safe away from the icy wilderness, young Anya lives a happy care-free life in the Snow Garden. She plays, she is at one with the animals and she dreams. On one day, no different from any other, Anya’s mother sets off on a journey to the glacier to collect a special flower to plant in the Snow Garden. Anya waits for her mother’s return and keeps busy throughout the day. After a long while of waiting Anya falls asleep and dreams of a terrible event involving the most dreadful enchantress of them all – the Snow Witch. From here on, Anya becomes determined to find and save her mother but she has no idea what lies ahead. Can Anya pit her wills against the frozen wilderness, the wild wolves and ultimately the Snow Witch herself?
Firstly, I am compelled to discuss how beautiful this book is. The glittery and sparkly cover is incredibly attractive – I am not sure if I have ever seen such a beautifully presented front and back cover of a book. In the right light the books glistens like freshly fallen snow. Daniel Egnéus has exquisitely illustrated this book. Each page is a complete work of art and shows the emotions of the characters. The use of contrasting colours really makes the main theme and subject stand out of the page. His use of black portrays the desolate landscape, whilst the varied blue tones give the cold frozen ice feeling. On his website the words: lucid, dreamy and vibrant are used to describe his style of art work and I feel these brilliantly encapsulate this entire book. The illustrations alone should definitely be savoured and enjoyed.
The story is equal to the illustrations. Beautifully rich descriptive language is used throughout providing a wonderful lyrical partner to the visual. It’s a fairytale in style and flavour – it provides a familiar genre within a new story. Fans of Disney’s Frozen will fall in love with this story. The setting of the frozen north, the Snow Witch and the struggle to save a special someone is all reminiscent of Disney’s Frozen – I am sure children will be singing Frozen songs at particular points in the story.
The majority of picture books for sharing with younger children are 32 pages long which is manageable for a child of around 4 years-old. However, we have 48 pages here. My 7 year-old sat comfortably throughout and understood the nuances of the story, whereas my 4 year-old struggled to sit for the additional 16 pages. This is not a criticism of the book at all, but more an observation of the length which is half the size again of most picture books, so, for me, it is aimed more towards the 5-8 age range.
This is a perfect time year to read, enjoy and most importantly take time to appreciate this stunning book. For further reading I recommend Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre as it provides a similar setting and wonderful illustrations. Many thanks to the publishers for sending a review copy to The Bookbag.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Lina Sunderland and Daniel Egneus at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Lina Sunderland and Daniel Egneus at Amazon.com.
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