The Snow Princess (2004)
Author: Ruth Sanderson
Illustrator: Ruth Sanderson
ISBN: 0316779822
Summary:
The Snow Princess, daughter of Father Frost and Mother Spring, decides to set off and see the world but before she does her parents warn her that she is not to fall in love or she will die. She travels many miles and meets many creatures but one day she stumbles upon a small homestead where she sees a young man who tends sheep and plays the flute. They become good friends and eventually she begins to care for him. When she has a dream of her parents and their warning to her she runs away but a fierce snow storm arises and the man, Sergei, is lost in the storm. She then realizes she does love him and she becomes full human and they live happily ever after.
Response:
I really liked this story! The author uses very descriptive vocabulary that paints a picture in your head without having to even see the pictures. My favorite part of the book though was the illustrations. Each page has been beautifully drawn / painted with a lot of detail in each picture. Ruth Sanderson has drawn each picture as life-like as possible in order to create the idea of a different world in the reader imagination. I also like the story because it involves a different culture. It is a Russian fairytale and even includes drawings of some of the different Russian costumes.
Classroom Connection:
This book would be a good book to read when you are doing a fantasy unit to give an example of what a fairytale is. It would also be a good book to read if you were discussing Russia and their culture. You could talk about how this story is one of their fairytales that they tell to their children.
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