There are many reasons Andersen is one of the great masters of the fairy tale, and they're all evident in this retelling by newcomer Peachey. The ``white bees'' of winter swarm as the Snow Queen takes an icy breath and covers the windows with ``strange and beautiful forms.'' But the little lovers Kay and Gerda always keep each other in sight by making peepholes in the frost with pennies heated on the stove. When Gerda almost freezes in her pursuit of the kidnapped Kay, her breath becomes as hot as steam and takes the shape of warrior angels who cause the snow to fall ``into thousands of pieces.'' The illustrations by Lynch are spectacular, fraught with lush and imaginative detail: In his interpretation of the above battle, the angels are made of pale glowing embers and the snowflakes become snarling ice-demons who hurl glasslike shards. In this tale, presented here by a gifted team, the real becomes poetry and the unreal seems utterly believable. (Folklore/Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-15-200874-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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As atmospheric as its companion, Twilight Comes Twice, this tone poem pairs poetically intense writing with luminescent oils featuring widely spaced houses, open lawns, and clumps of autumnal trees, all lit by a huge full moon. Fletcher tracks that moon’s nocturnal path in language rich in metaphor: “With silent slippers / it climbs the night stairs,” “staining earth and sky with a ghostly glow,” lighting up a child’s bedroom, the wings of a small plane, moonflowers, and, ranging further afield, harbor waves and the shells of turtle hatchlings on a beach. Using creamy brushwork and subtly muted colors, Kiesler depicts each landscape, each night creature from Luna moths to a sleepless child and her cat, as well as the great moon sweeping across star-flecked skies, from varied but never vertiginous angles. Closing with moonset, as dawn illuminates the world with a different kind of light, this makes peaceful reading either in season, or on any moonlit night. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2003
ISBN: 0-618-16451-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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