The Snow Queen by Claire Keay

The Snow Queen by Claire Keay
Publisher: Windmill Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The classic story of how Gerda saves Kay from the evil Snow Queen is depicted in this enchanting picture book. The entertaining narrative presents this beloved story in a way that allows for independent reading and for story time with an adult. Beautiful illustrations will inspire young readers to tap into their imaginations. This fresh take on a Christmas classic will get readers in the holiday spirit and excited for fun winter activities.

Friendship can make anything possible.

One of the things I liked the most about this picture book was that it didn’t require prior knowledge of the classic fairy tale that this was based upon. The narrator explained almost all of it quite clearly while still leaving room for readers who were already familiar with it to think of a few details from the original that were changed or left out. This also meant that all readers could use their imaginations in certain portions of the storyline which was delightful in many cases.

With that being said, I do wish the origins of the Snow Queen and her wicked specks of snow had been explained better. This was something I’d probably go ahead and talk about ahead of time with the little ones in my life so they’d better understand her backstory and motivation for doing the naughty things she did. While the plot did make sense without it, knowing about it would make certain scenes easier to explain to anyone who might wonder what was happening in them and why Kay was suddenly behaving so awfully.

The friendship between Gerda and Kay was wholesome and wonderful. They truly cared about each other. I enjoyed the scenes that described the sorts of things they did together before the Snow Queen came into their lives and changed everything. It helped to explain why Gerda was eager to go on her long journey to save Kay and try to get their lives back to normal.

The Snow Queen was a heartwarming fairy tale that works well for little ones.