The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen
(Note: For Andersen I also read The Emperors New Clothes, The Red Shoes, and The Streadfast Tin Soldier)
Hans Christian Andersen Retold by Amy Ehrlich Illustrated by Susan Jeffers
Dutton Children's Books, 1982
Pages: 40
Reading Level: 9-12
Genre: Fairy Tale

The tale starts out telling us that long ago there were some trolls who made a mirror which made everything pretty look ugly, one day it shattered and its pieces fell around the world. If a tiny piece got in your eye, you would see ugly things instead of pretty ones. If a piece touched your heart, your heart became cold and you became cruel. One day a little boy gets a piece in his eye and heart. He becomes rude to his best friend, who is a girl. One day the boy gets picked up by the evil ice queen and she takes him to her castle. The girl is upset, and sets out to find him. He gets trapped at a witches house for a while, but eventually gets free. Then she goes to a castle, but doesn't find him. Then she gets picked up by some robbers, who end up giving her a reindeer who gives her a ride to the snowqueens castle. She finds her friends, and warms up his heart. He is so ahppy to see her that he starts crying and washes out the mirror pieve from his eye, and they leave the castle and go home and get married.

I would recommend this book to girls, because it shows that they can be brave and can do things on their own.

This book could cause children to think it is okay to be rude, because the little boy is very rude, and the little girl still tries to save him.

My reaction: This tale was okay, but not my favorite. It wasn't as gruesome as some of Andersens other stories, which is good.

My rating: ***