The Snow Queen

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The Snow Queen
Written by Hans Christian Andersen,  Illustrated by Snna Annukka
Ten Speed Press

     Here's a confession: I've never like the original story of The Snow Queen. I grew up on Andersen's fairy tales and I always favored The Princess and the Pea, The Wild Swans, and even, occasionally, The Little Mermaid. The Snow Queen never captured my attention, and I always found it slightly bizarre. (Probably not helped by the fact that my childhood edition had rather ugly illustrations). But in recent years, though I still wouldn't name it as a favorite, I've come to appreciate many of its themes and imagery.

     However, for this edition, the illustrations and binding itself is what I'm truly reviewing. I'm always on the lookout for expanding my hardcover book collection, and this copy, with its clothbound cover, caught my attention, The size of it is a little awkward for a hardcover, and I have mixed feelings on the illustrations. Some of them are quite nice and Scandinavian, but there's also something about the volume that reminds me (not in a good way) of old 1970s books we have lying around the house. That probably won't bother a lot of people; it more of a matter of taste. However, it's a nice winter read, and is, for all my complaining, somewhat nostalgic.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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