SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

by Brothers Grimm ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 1982

The text is designed for beginning readers, which explains--but doesn't justify--its static, metronome quality: ""Snow White was running through the woods. It was getting dark. The wind howled through the trees, and wild animals were all around. The animals did not harm her, but Snow White was afraid. She ran as fast as she could."" With such a manifest lack of rhythm, evocative language, or sense of drama, there is no terror or gladness; there is only--a plot. (And there is only plot: all the by-play of Snow White's arrival at the dwarfs' cottage, and their return home, has been eliminated.) The pictures, for their part, have nothing but vapid tastefulness to commend them: the colors are curiously faded and even the stepmother lacks expression. In any case, most children are read the story before they can read for themselves--and can then rediscover it, if they choose, in various simple versions. For a first acquaintance, the Jarrell/Burkert version is in every way preferable to this.

Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1982

ISBN: 0374468680

Page Count: -

Publisher: Four Winds

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1982

Categories: CHILDREN'S