Little Daughter of the Snow Book

Childless and sad, an old Russian man and his wife watch the village children playing in the snow. One day they decide to make their own little snow girl. To their surprise, she comes alive! But Little Daughter of the Snow soon tells them that she isn’t quite like other children — she plays outside all day and night, and eats ice porridge for breakfast. Will the couple love her enough to make her stay? This poignant version of the classic Russian tale, with atmospheric illustrations by Tom Bower, carries a timeless message about the true value of love.

Publishers Weekly

In this abridged story from Ransome's (1884-1967) 1916 collection Old Peter's Russian Tales, an old man and woman create a "little snow girl" to assuage their loneliness. The girl, promises to "laugh and sing and play/ By frosty night and frosty day" but warns the couple "whenever I do know/ That you love me little, then/ I shall melt away again." Thus, the narrative die is cast: When a fox rescues the snow girl from depths of the forest, the couple refuses to reward the animal with the hen he requests, and the snow girl promptly "leapt into the arms of Frost, her father, and Snow, her mother," leaving the human couple behind. The heightened, often incantatory language casts a spell, transporting readers to a long ago, faraway place where wishes come true, animals talk and punishments are draconian. But the story's power is somewhat diluted by Bower's (Albert Blows a Fuse) canvas-textured paintings. The inherent cheeriness of his naif styling works well when everything is hunky-dory (e.g., when the snow girl teaches the old woman how to make ice porridge, or frolics with the human children in the village square), but the pictures fall short when it comes to communicating a sense of the snow girl's other-worldly imperiousness and charisma. Ages 5-8. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.