''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' is a 1938

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

written and illustrated by

Wanda Gág Wanda Hazel Gág ( ; March 11, 1893 – June 27, 1946) was an American artist, author, translator, and illustrator. She is best known for writing and illustrating the children's book ''Millions of Cats'', the oldest American picture book still i ...

and published by

Coward-McCann G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

. ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' was a

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

Honor Book in 1939. The book is a twist on the classic tale of

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

. Since then it has been republished several times, including in 1999, 2004, and 2013.

Background

After the success of Walt Disney's film ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

'', author

Anne Carroll Moore Anne Carroll Moore (July 12, 1871 – January 20, 1961) was an American educator, writer and advocate for children's libraries. She was named Annie after an aunt, and officially changed her name to Anne in her fifties, to avoid confusion with Ann ...

suggested that Gág retell the story of Snow White in a manner more faithful to the original

story. Gag translated the text from the German and designed the illustrations.

Book Details

The book is printed in white and black. The cover depicts a young girl with black hair looking out the window of a small red house.

Description

A queen, used to being "the fairest one of all", is turned green with envy when her magic mirror says that her seven-year-old stepdaughter, Snow White, is now the fairest one of all. With fury the queen demands a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods, kill her, and bring back a token as proof of her death. Once in the woods, Snow White pleads with the huntsmen not to hurt her, assuring him that she'll run away and never return. The huntsman agrees and brings a wild boar heart to the queen as a token. Snow White runs until she discovers a small wooden hut, inside of which are found objects in centuplicate. Snow White falls asleep on one of the little beds and is later awoken by seven dwarfs. They agree to let her stay if she becomes their house keeper. Later, when the evil queen asks her magic mirror, "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, Who's the fairest one of all?" the mirror answers "Thou art very fair, Oh Queen, But the fairest ever seen Dwells within the wooded glen With the seven little men." Angered, the queen dresses in rags and paints her face to conceal her identity. She travels to the glen and convinces Snow White to eat an apple that she has secretly poisoned, despite protestations from the dwarfs. Snow White is poisoned and appears to die; the dwarfs fashion a glass casket and place her inside. Years pass by, and one day a young prince walking through the forest spots Snow White in the casket. He begs the dwarfs to let him take her to the castle, after much pleading they agree. On the way to the castle, the men rock the casket and a piece of the apple is dislodged from Snow White's throat and she revives. Snow White, her prince, and the seven dwarfs live happily ever after.

Critical reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' described the book as "a stunning version of the Grimms' classic story". Books Links found that "the pen-and-ink drawings are treasures, loaded with details" and that "inventive compositions and an asymmetrical picture shape are key features in Gág’s works"."Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage)." ''Uppress.umm.edu''. N.p., n.d. Web.

References

External links

* * (Coloured drawings) {{DEFAULTSORT:Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1938 children's books American picture books Caldecott Honor-winning works Picture books based on fairy tales Works based on Snow White Coward-McCann books