Snow-White and Rose-Red

This book is not what I expected. Based on the title you would think that the Disney Character of Snow white was in there somewhere. She's not. A completely different Snow White. I was also trying to figure out what Rose Red was, and as it turns out, Rose Red is Snow White's Sister.

This book has all of the typical Fairytale formulas. The two sisters were innocent and compassionate. Their mother was compassionate. There was magic as the Bear that they ran into was more than he seemed. There was the happy ending as well.

On the surface, this is a happy little tale with mystery and intrigue and any little girl would probably love their mom or dad to read this story to them as a bed time story. The print is rather smallish so I would find it show more difficult for the intended target audience to try to read this book on their own.

But I know how I was as a kid. And if this story were read to me, I would have a ton of questions at the end, simply because it was sort of incomplete, or better put, the Author seemed to be running out of time and needed to end the story quickly.

The Bear they encountered was really a Prince who was cursed with a magic spell cast on him by an evil dwarf. Political correctness goes right out the window as the antagonist of this book turns out to be an evil Dwarf. A Dwarf who is as clumsy as he is stupid. Snow White and Rose Red end up rescuing the ungrateful Dwarf throughout that story....so this would be the first problem I have with the story. He is so stupid and inattentive that the mere thought of casting a complicated spell that turns a man into a bear is beyond comprehension. That's the first inconsistency within the story.

Throughout the book Snow White and her sister Rose Red are set as equal protagonists. That is, until the end. The "Hurry Up" Ending where Snow White is the one that gets to marry the Prince and Rose Red gets to marry the Prince's Brother, who you know nothing about because he was introduced in the last sentence of the book. More inconsistencies in this book.

You have no idea what ended up happening to Snow White's and Rose Red's mother. You can assume that she just lived by herself in the old cottage but, nothing is detailed.

Oh, and there was murder. The Bear killed the mean old Dwarf. Probably because that's what we do to mean and evil right? We kill it whenever possible. And then we are all surprised when later in life we glorify vigilantism. We sit there and wonder, where did this all begin? How have we come to accept a vigilante as normal behavior? Well, there you have it. It starts at about 4 or 5 years of age when parents read children this book. Remember, kids take things very literally at times.

So this is why I gave this book a little better than average score. It's a good story. But I felt it could have been told better. show less

Snow white and red rose, two sisters with very different personalities, have a close connection when they are tested by a wicked gnome. However, they handle the wicked gnome without being affected by his rude ways. The bear who grows in friendship with the sisters has been put under a spell from the wicked gnome and finally the bear kills the gnome and turn into the prince he once was. This version of Snow White, had the happily ever after ending, but it displayed a unique theme. It is easy for someone to do nice things for someone they care about, but it is not always that easy for the person to do nice things for people that do not always agree with them. The sisters saved the gnome multiple times even though he got angry with them show more and stole precious items. The sisters continually helped the gnome and with their kind spirits were rewarded their happily ever after. show less

This story about Snow White is different from the one that I grew up hearing. The one that I remember is about a girl with dark hair and snow white skin who lives with her evil stepmother. The evil queen thinks she is the fairest one of all, but Snow White is. Snow White goes to live in the forest in a cottage and she meets 7 dwarves who she befriends.
This story however, is about Snow White and her sister Rose Red. Instead of an evil stepmother being present, the girls live with their mother, who is a widow. Their mother knew they were as beautiful as the trees she had, which had red and white blossoms. The girls got their names from the trees. Snow White and her sister were very different; one was quiet and the other loved to run and show more play and look for butterflies. The two sisters were very close to each other. Throughout the book, her and her sister went on adventures through the woods, and ultimately both find princes to marry.
I really liked this version of the story because it showed more of Snow White's family life, like that she was really close with her sister and her mother. I also liked that they relied on each other for everything. In the beginning of the book whenever Rose Red would go walking with her sister she would say, "We will never desert one another." I also found this book to be a little long for younger kids, so I think this book would be perfect for 2nd and 3rd graders. show less

This is a rather tame story considering that some of the Grimm Brother's stories were dark. In the forest (so many of the Grimm Brother's stories centered around a forest,) lived two beautiful kind sisters, their mother called one Snow White, the other Rose Red. Snow White was the calmer of the two, both were nice. There were rose bushes, red, and also white.

On a blustery cold day, when the door was opened, a huge grisly bear greeted them. While they were afraid, they invited the bear out of the cold. They proceded to take the snow off his fur and brush him while he warmed himself by the cottage fireplace. throuout the winter he came to the cottage and was always greeted warmly.

In the Spring, he no loner visited the girls. As the went show more into the forrest, the deer, birds and animals greeted them. They were safe, in fact once when the fell asleep, they were awoken be a shining white angel of a little girl who had protected them throughout the night as they were unaware of the steep cliff they were near.

Going into the woods for kindling, one day they came upon a short nasty-spirited grnome with a long beard and ugly demeanor, the gnome's beard was stuck in a trunk. They helped him only to be admonished by him. They noticed he carried a bag of gold. Once again they found the tangled gome in the water caught by a fish line. They helped him and were treated the same way as before.
This time they noted a sack of pearls.

The third time they found the gnome and saved him from a rather large eagle who was about to harm him. Again, they were rudely treated. they then found the bear in the woods who frightened the nasty gnome. He offered the tasty morsel girls as an option of leaving him alone. The bear killed the gnome.

Suddenly, the bear turned into a charming prince who was under the spell of the nasty gnome who stole his treasure. His death set the prince free.

Years later, he married Snow White and his brother married Rose Red. They took care of their mother in her elder years and lived happily. Every year the rose busses planted in front of their windows bore the nicest roses of red and white.

As with all books illustrated by Gennady Spirin, this one is no exception. His illustrations are always rendered beautifully and agument any story he chooses to illustrate.

I have a large selection of the books he illustrated and hope to collect all of them. show less

After reading "Snow White and Rose Red," I was shocked to see that Snow White had a sister. In the original Snow White that I remember Snow White was an only child. The book was interesting, and it was a good fairy tale.The book tells a story about the two sisters and how they do everything to help their mother. One day they heard a knock on the front door. When they opened the door, it was a bear. At first, they were all scared, but the bear was harmless to them. The girls spent most of their time with him playing and hanging out. When it got hot, the bear had to go away, but he told the girls to watch out for the gnome. The girls at a few run in with the gnome, and he was a very mean and hateful thing. They ran into the bear, and he show more killed the gnome. The bear turned into a handsome Prince. He explained to the girls that the gnome put a spell on him. Snow White got married to the Prince and her sister married the Prince's brother. The story is very different from Snow White it does have one thing in common, and that is Snow White marrying the Prince. The illustrations are older, but they are charming. The author also does an excellent job with the lanuage. The author chooses certain words that brought me as a reader back into the period that this story took place in. show less

A straightforward retelling of Snow White and Rose Red with Gennady Spirin's signature illustrations that are well-suited to a timeless fairytale.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful. I was never able to find this book in print when I was younger but I rented it from the library frequently and loved the idea of Snow White having a sister named Rose Red and their subsequent adventure finding their prince charmings. This is the most beautiful fairy tale picture book!