  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 05/01/2017 Gr 3–7—This adaptation of "Snow White and Rose Red" makes the classic fairy tale accessible and intriguing for today's readers. Sisters Snow and Rose are daughters of a nobleman who disappeared under troubling circumstances. Forced to vacate their grand residence after their father's presumed death, the girls must now live in a humble forest cottage with their grieving mother. The sisters explore the forest, narrowly escape dangers, discover a peculiar library, repeatedly rescue the strange Little Man, and befriend a young boy named Ivo. Something truly evil lurks in these woods, however, which accounts for the tragically frequent disappearances of locals—perhaps even for their father's disappearance. Each chapter has a vignette feel to it; some of the particularly poignant chapters demonstrate with masterly gentleness how people deal with loss in different ways. Several single pages, interspersed throughout the narrative, recount the prophecies, observations, and dialogue of the forest trees. These pages insert a dark mysteriousness into the flow of the story. Lovely pencil and watercolor illustrations accompany the text, lending a wispy, dreamlike quality to the tale. The suspenseful, dramatic action doesn't really start building until the last quarter of the book, but readers will realize details have been quietly dropped throughout the entire narrative that contribute to the climax and conclusion. VERDICT A solid purchase for most mid-size libraries. Fairy-tale fans will delight in this fascinating spin on a lesser-known tale.—Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 09/01/2017 Martin’s illustrated rendition of Snow White and Rose Red brings this lesser-known Grimm fairy tale out of obscurity. Taking a few creative liberties—there’s no prince, nor any mention of marriage—Martin ventures into an enchanted wood where bandits and monsters prowl, people go missing, and a widow resides with her two daughters: Snow, who is wild and fair, and Rose, who is gentle, with dark hair and rose-petal cheeks. Still grieving their father, the girls find comfort in nature and spend their time exploring the woods, which holds an unimaginable secret. Like most of the Grimm brothers’ tales, this peculiar story carries sinister overtones, but Martin does a nice job of keeping the dark atmosphere from overwhelming younger readers, largely through her whimsical touches. A quirky librarian who offers objects rather than books; a boy with an encyclopedic knowledge of mushrooms; a protective bear companion (though that is in the original); fairies; and lovely full-color illustrations—all these elements lend charm and balance to this tale, where avarice and cruelty fall to kindness and love. - Copyright 2017 Booklist. Loading...
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