Joan Aiken, the marvelously talented author who penned The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and its sequels, turns to the classic fairy-tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in this lovely picture-book. Her narrative follows the expected track, with our eponymous heroine being born with snow white skin, bark-black hair and berry-red lips - in short, with the beauty that eventually leads her wicked step-mother to plot to have her killed, first by having the court's huntsman execute in her woods, and when that fails, by disguising herself in various roles and seeking Snow White out at the home of the Seven Dwarfs, where she has found refuge...

Faithful to the traditional Brothers Grimm original, for the most part, Aiken's retelling contains all the major plot points, save for the stepmother's attendance at Snow White's wedding feast, but also has some entertaining additions that increased my enjoyment. The mirror's personality here, its hatred of Snow White's stepmother, and its gleefully spiteful replies to her questions, were quite well done. The names given to the dwarfs - Fred and Ted, Mike and Ike, Tim and Sim, and Sacheverell - were also amusing. The accompanying illustrations by Belinda Downes, done in fabric-art form, are absolutely beautiful, and capture the magic and beauty of the tale. Although not the equal of my all-time favorite Snow White retelling, done by Josephine Poole and Angela Barrett, this was nevertheless a lovely presentation, one I would recommend to young fairy-tale lover, Joan Aiken fans, or admirers of fabric-art illustrations. ( )

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was about a girl who had black hair and pale skin, she was very beautiful. But the queen her father married wanted to be the most beautiful in all the land. Snow White was the most beautiful in all the land. One night Snow White came across a house that was empty. She wanted to get out of the night and sleep for a while so she went in. When she went in, no one was in there, so she ate some food and got some rest. The seven dwarfs came home to Snow White being in their home, but they took her in and decided she could stay with them. They queen was upset that Snow White was more beautiful than she was so she disguised herself trying to kill Snow White multiple times by playing tricks on her. The dwarfs would save her. Finally the evil queen decided to give her a poisonous apple so the dwarfs couldn't save her. They thought for sure Snow White wouldn't be able to be saved. A prince came along and they showed him what had happened to Snow White. He kissed her and brought her back to life, and when he did, they lived happily ever after. This plot again follows along with the other fairytales. They girl was in distress, she had an evil stepmother, and prince saved her and they lived happily ever after. The illustrations in this story portrayed the events going on in the story. ( )

This telling of Snow White is quite different in some ways from the Disney rendition. I believe this one to be more like the "original." It tells the story of Snow White and how her step mother attempts to kill her for being the fairest in the land. In the end, she is saved by the prince and marries him. The illustrations are made of embroidery. ( )

This is a retelling of the Grimm Fairy tale. It is a far cry from the Disney version of the story because it takes the queen several tries to harm Snow White - once with tight ribbons, once with a poisoned comb, and finally with a poisoned apple. Also, in this version, it isn't the kiss from the prince that awakens Snow White, it is the poison apple falling from her mouth that awakens her.

I enjoyed reading this retelling of the story. The illustrations that accompany the story look like needlework and appliqué and are very colorful.

curriculum connection - Students will compare this version of the story with the Disney film pointing out differences.