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Snow White

Snow White
By The Brothers Grimm; illustrated by Quentin Greban
North-South Books, 2009. Unpaged. Picture book.

The original tale of Snow White is much darker and more frightening than the version most people are familiar with today. The core story is the same, with a wicked, vain queen who wants her stepdaughter dead because her beauty challenges the queen's own, but there are elements which make this a version more suited for older readers. Snow White flees the castle after the queen's attempted death plot and is taken in by seven kind dwarfs. The queen hunts her down and finally manages to end Snow White's life--or so she believes.

Beautiful illustrations set this book apart from other Snow White versions. Delicate, airy watercolors and a Snow White depicted as very young and sweet give this book a fresh look. Reminiscent to Lisbeth Zwerger's style, this book is a lovely update on an old classic.

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