The Snow Queen (With Original Illustrations)

This fairytale is perhaps my favorite one of all time. The story of two young children, Kay, a boy, and Gerda, a girl, friends who are "like brother and sister" so close they are to each other. They are poor; their parents live opposite one another in two "garrets" and their grandmother is near them. A hobgoblin's spell interferes with Kay's way of looking at the world. Before too long, Kay is "abducted" by the mysterious and chillingly seductive Snow Queen, who has a heart of ice. When Kay goes missing, Gerda wonders where he might be, and this is the beginning of a quest narrative, with the antagonists being the witch with her garden of "floral voices," the Prince and Princess, and the crow who provide delays, temptations, misleading information and pleasurable but time-wasting distractions along the way. This tale is not straightforward by any means. Beneath the surface of the text, we have a romance story of cruel seduction in which The Snow Queen seduces Kay, and he goes willingly on a dangerous adventure to end up trapped, isolated and devoid of love or feeling. Kay complements the darkness of The Snow Queen deceptively hidden in the "light" of snow and ice. Kay also represents the shadow side; he may not even be worthy of Gerda who is his willing but passive rescuer in the tale. Although lacking in direction, she represents goodness and loyalty. Kay, full of adolescent angst, with "ice" in his eye and his heart - splinters from the hobgoblin's mirror which have distorted his vision- shows he has a coldness about him, a way of looking at the world that means he is blinded. When Gerda finally finds him, The Snow Queen has vanished. The Snow Queen will always be an enigma, but perhaps this tale is a religious allegorical tale of Death, which is a seducer, and the afterlife; the children's return home to the garden as adults, in the warmth of the sunshine. This is their salvation in "heaven." The recurring motif of the rose represents memory, idealizing and romanticising childhood itself as being at one with nature. Importantly, it is repeated in the religious verse; God's promise is that his love is infinite, and outlasts the flowers, when the blooms have died. Even without the undertext of romance, this beautiful story would still be romantic. The way in which Andersen describes the snow is enchanting and unforgettable. The richness of the text means this fairytale can be read by older children and adults. Suzy Davies, Author of the Fairytale, "The Girl in the Red Cape: A Mystical Sled Ride"

I am a big fan of Disney's "Frozen", but it wasn't until I looked up information on this film that I discovered that it is inspired by this story. The information regarding "The Snow Queen", and how Walt Disney wanted to do an animated film based on this book actually led me to check "Frozen"'s end credits because I didn't believe it. I love both how "Frozen" was created in such a way that allowed it to retain aspects from "The Snow Queen" that feature in so many of Walt Disney's animated films. Namely, "Frozen" contains the key mexsage of Hans Christian Anderson's "Snow Queen." Moreover, "Frozen" accomplishes this task while remembering to make "Frozen" unique and enjoyable for a wide range of viewers. I purchased this book as a gift for a friend who loves "Frozen", because I thought she might like to see how Walt Disney was inspired to make the film. I ordered my friend the paperpack version, and it actucally led to me getting the hardcover verison. Both of us loved "The Snow Queen", and this love for the story had a wonderful side-effect. I am now a fan of this book, and so when I learned the title character (and certain aspects of the book's plot) were going to incorporated into "Once Upon A Time: Season 4", I was thrilled. I believe this book was definately a good purchuse and recommed it to anyone who loves timeless stories of epic journeys involving friendship and love.

not too many pictures, delivered on time. Great book for a gift.

Love this story! Copy not the best, but the story is what makes the book:)

As a child when I was going through learning English as a second language, the books by Hans Christian Andersen were such a delight to read and "see" other worlds that only the mind of this fantastic writer could bring to me. My grandchildren love these stories and yes they were born in California.

Read it to your kids

I loved reading this book, even as a senior. I generally throw out or give away books that I have finished reading, but am saving this one and looking forward to reading it again. This book gives you a good feeling. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I have.

After the movie Frozen came out, I heard a lot of chatter about how producers had considered making a movie of The Snow Queen... and that Disney changed the original story... somewhat. I had to know how much, so I read this. -- I was stunned in many ways. First, it's a story for ten-year-olds, or maybe for reading to Kindergarteners. And SPOILER ALERT, it's NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIE, NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY CLOSE. The snow queen is Never IN the story. She's merely mentioned a few times by other characters. It's about a little girl searching for her little brother. It's a "fib" that Frozen was even based on Hans Christian Andersen's story. -- I had expected I'd pass the book on to my granddaughter after I read it. But I won't. The entire style of writing is so "foreign" and unusual that I think it would just confuse her. I'm glad I read it because I'm now culturally wiser.

Excellent book. Arrived in great condition.

This book was my childhood fave, and I gave it to my granddaughter for Christmas. She wanted a book with an evil queen and this was it.

A classic fairy tale that serves as the inspiration for novels such as C S Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia; split into several stories spanning the creation of the mirror by a demon which showed the dark and flawed side of everything good in humanity, the use of the mirror shards to enchant a young boy whom the snow queen is enamoured with and his childhood friend's quest to save him from her grasp. Well worth a read for children and adults alike.

Classic book

This is just what we needed to learn the story before seeing the ballet of the Snow queen in the theatre. Good to see the original illustrations.