Rose Red and Snow White is one of the classic fairytales from the Grimm's Fairytales collection. I chose this picture book because it was one of the fairytales I had never heard of before, and I was interested in reading it. It is a beautiful tale of two kind sisters and their mother who treat all animals and humans with love and respect. They are even kind to those who are mean to them, and they end up both marrying princes in the end for the good deeds.

Some fairytales that I read this week were very surface level and followed similar plots, but I thought Red Rose and Snow White had deeper content and messages that were buried in the text. I enjoyed reading it, and I would love to share it with my students. ( )

This fairytale started of with the traditional ''Once upon a time" introduction. Rose wood and Snow White are two inseparable sisters who live working yet carefree lives in the forest. One day during winter, a bear came knocking on the door frightening everyone inside. Everyone soon eased up as the bear began to speak, asking for a place to rest and keep warm. Once Spring came along the bear left to protect his jewels form dwarfs. Eventually Snow White and Rose wood came in contact with the dwarf. The dwarf kept getting his beard stuck in the forest and became disgusted with the sisters for constantly cutting his beard. I quickly realized the ill-mannered and rude dwarf was the antagonist. The bear soon came across the dwarf that casted a spell against him and immediately killed him. The spell was lifted from the bear who was a prince of a king. The prince and his brother went off to marry Rose Red and Snow White. This fairytale displayed humility, ungratefulness, love and trust. ( )

"Rose Red & Snow White" by Ruth Sanderson is a classic retelling of the story by Brothers Grimm. In this story, it is about two sisters named Snow White and Rose Red who live with their mother and care for each other very much. They are always by each other's sides and display kindness to each person and animal they come across. A talking bear comes to their door asking for safety from a blizzard and they provide him with that. A mean and selfish dwarf crosses their path and they treat him with the same kindness they express to everyone. They go out of their way to help him out of trouble and he continues to be heartless towards them. Eventually, the dwarf gets punished for what he's done to them and others by an unexpected character. The two girls end up getting their happily ever after and teach the reader a very important lesson on being kind to others and the benefits that come from doing that. This picture book also offers beautiful illustrations that are full of realistic and detailed settings and characters. The style provides a dream-like feel to the realism, delivering a magical experience to the reader. Overall, I can see myself reading this to my students one day to show the different kinds of fairy tales there are. ( )

The main idea of this book is that we should take care of others. Whether it be our family members, animals, elements of nature, or even unkind people, we must always show compassion.
I liked this book for many reasons. One reason I enjoyed this book was because of its moral message. This book explains how we should treat others who are not kind to us. Even if they are rude, foul-mouthed, and unappreciative, we should always be generous in helping them. For example, in this book Rose Red and her sister Snow White encounter a dwarf who continues to find himself in danger. He gets his beard caught, an eagle catches him, etc. The girls help him time after time, even though he insults them and yells at them. This is a powerful message for young children. To "treat others as you wish to be treated" is especially hard when the other people are mean! I think children will learn a lot from this book by seeing that compassion should know no boundaries. It is easy to be nice to those that are nice to us, but even harder to be nice to those who are not.
I also liked this book because of the language used. The descriptions and details given really paint an image-filled picture in your head. I think this is an especially important characteristic for fairy tales to have. It gives them a bit more of a magical and dreamy feel when your mental pictures are vivid. For example, one page reads, "When the snow fell on cold winter nights, their mother would say, 'Rose Red, Snow White, come, and we shall have a story.' Then they would gather close by the fire and she would read aloud to them while the two sisters listened and sewed or spun. Sometimes a newborn lamb would lay next to them, and a tame dove would perch behind them, its head tucked under its wing." This is just a beautiful scene that the author depicted and I loved the consistent descriptive language used throughout the book. ( )

This book brought me to readers response theory as I finished reading it. I love how the author created a sister for snow white and named her rose red, I was so used to the original that this was pleasant to have. Some authors stick to the normal old plot, but I like how this author switches it all up, from taking in a bear to a skeptical dwarf, this book is really full of surprises. ( )