Snow White [Hardcover]

Brothers Grimm (Author), Charles Santore (Illustrator)

Book Description

Santore's rich watercolors capture the moods and emotions of the Grimm Brother's tale from its awe-inspiring landscapes to the subtle majesty of the changing hours of th eday. This Snow White will surely stand the test of time and become a classic in its own right.  

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For this self-consciously lavish volume, Santore (Aesop's Fables; The Wizard of Oz) borrows the Brothers Grimm version of the familiar tale, then reimagines it through his naturalistic, sentimental paintings. He places the wicked queen's castle amid mountains and forests filled with rabbits, deer, bears and other wildlife. The characters wear the chivalric attire associated with fairy tales: hose and felt coats for the men, draped and corseted dresses for the women. Snow White herself is a graceful, tousle-haired maiden who fits modern standards for "the land's most fair." Whether or not readers enjoy this oversize hardcover depends on their acceptance of the dwarves (portrayed not as endearing creatures but as true human dwarves), their tolerance for the too-romantic artwork and their feelings toward the Grimms' text, which ends with the queen dancing herself to death in a pair of magic shoes. All ages. BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

Santore's rich watercolors capture the moods and emotions of the Grimm Brother's tale from its awe-inspiring landscapes to the subtle majesty of the changing hours of th eday. This Snow White will surely stand the test of time and become a classic in its own right.  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (June 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679887598
• ISBN-13: 978-0679887591
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 10.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,825,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated., February 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Snow White (Hardcover)

The illustrations in this book are breathtaking. The story is familiar, but with little twists and turns away from the Disney version, but it's the amazing artistry of the illustrations that makes this a wonderful book to own.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Santore's illustrations were beautiful, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Snow White (Hardcover)

Charles Santore's illustrations were beautiful. He portrayed the moods and feelings of the subjects very well indeed. We appreciated that he gave human faces to the subjects rather than the animated cartoons of Disney. I never could understand from the Disney pictures why the stepmother was so beautiful or how Snow White was deceived by such an evil looking hag. Santore's illustrations make the story believable on this score. Santore also "aged" Snow White in each consecutive picture of when she was "dead" for "many years" - thus making it credible that she was a young woman when she awoke. We also preferred the simplicity of the original story over the Disney version. We enjoyed this book and our 2.5 year old really likes it too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Garden-gnome dwarves knock my socks off, March 19, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snow White (Hardcover)

These soft illustrations are eye-catchingly simple, and the gentle colors make for peaceful reading. This is the whole Snow White story with all the Brothers Grimm details - from the mother pricking her finger while sewing, to the enchanted mirror, to the huntsman, to the three murder attempts (laces, comb, and apple), all the way through to the stepmother dancing in hot-iron shoes at the wedding (Grimm, indeed!).

My favorite part of this story is the dwarves - they are illustrated to look like garden gnomes, with their red pointy caps. The simple facial expressions have a manga-feel to them, but without any harshness or exaggeration. Beautiful backgrounds and textures.

Quentin Greban, well done!