The Snow Princess

by Ruth Sanderson

Aware of the warning by her parents, Father Frost and Mother Spring, the Snow Princess sets off to see the world without any intention of every falling in love, but after meeting a kind and handsome shepherd, the princess's frigid heart yields to the excitement of her first love.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Fantasy, Russia, Romance, Magic

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2004

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations by Sanderson, as usual, and a plotline that's reminiscent of a Russian folktale, though it's not exactly Snegurochka as I thought because of the title; it's more romantic, too.

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to read picture books, mainly for their illustrations. Ruth Sanderson's illustrations are always exceptional. Here, she knocks this out of the park because this is full of magic and the most amazing illustrations.

As for the story, this has a happier ending compared to the story I knew (where the Snow Princess falls in love with a human and leaves her home and when the sun touches her, she melts and turns into a cloud.) I would say this is a fair coming-of-age story of a young princess who sets off to explore the world.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book by this author; full of magic and wonder. The Russian winter wonderland landscapes are beautiful and the Snow Princess is gorgeous.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The daughter of Father Frost and Mother Spring, the Snow Princess grows up in wintry isolation, with only her parents for company. When she becomes a young woman, she sets out to explore the world, her father's warning about the dangers of falling in love with a human - something that will lead to her death - ringing in her ears. Despite this warning, the princess eventually meets, is befriended by, and falls in love with a young human man named Sergei. Not wanting to die, she attempts to withdraw, only for the snowstorm she summons to endanger Sergei. Can she buy her life at the price of his...?

Based upon The Snow Maiden, a Russian ballet composed by Rimsky-Korsakov, The Snow Princess has all of the hallmarks of a classic fairy-tale, with the forces of nature, star-crossed lovers, and fateful choices pitting survival against love all playing a role. Ruth Sanderson has changed the ending of the story here, making it less tragic - yes, the Snow Princess will die, but only in the fullness of time, as all mortals do. The artwork, done in oil paint, is absolutely gorgeous. I have a weakness for wintry scenes, so it was probably a foregone conclusion that I would enjoy this one, but Sanderson's paintings are still just lovely. I think my favorite scenes were the ones in which the Snow Princess walks along with the polar bear, and the one in which she kneels over a fallen Sergei. Recommended to Ruth Sanderson fans, and to anyone who appreciated beautifully-illustrated fairy-tales.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely tale about the nature of human love. One for wintertime and snowy days!

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story of the Snow Princess, daughter of Father Frost and Mother Spring. Set in a Russian folktale setting, the Snow Princess sets out to see the world with but one warning from her parents: She must never let love for a man enter her heart or she will die.

*Spoiler alert* She falls in love and death enters her life for in allowing herself to fall in love she becomes mortal *end spoilers*

[Miriam Simut · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this!!!! ❄️❄️❄️

[Alantie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply gorgeous illustrations accompanying a sweet fairy tale. This was a new story to me and I quite enjoyed it.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lately I have been discovering Ruth Sanderson's art and have enjoyed it so much that I have bought several designs I play to spend months if not years cross stitching. Some of which are Spring, Summer, Fall Faerie, Woodland Enchantress aka Christmas Fairy and The Snow Princess. Several of her designs are also already charted from the illustrations in the story. Maybe one day I will collect them all.

As to the story... Father Frost and Mother Spring have a beautiful maiden daughter, the Snow Princess. She must choose between an immortal life and a mortal one with the love of a human man. It is beautifully illustrated and an interesting medium length fairy tale. It was good for a bed-time story.

I absolutely plan to continue to try to buy Ruth Sanderson's books and add them to our collection. This is my second in addition to her multi-cultural Treasury of Princesses. I'm glad I made this purchase.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Един поглед е достатъчен да се влюбите в илюстрациите на Рут Сандерсън, а в „Снежната царкиня” (изд.„Софт Прес”) тя наистина е надминала себе си. Автор и илюстратор, който с обич и внимание претворява любими класически приказки, този път Рут Сандерсън се е спряла върху руската народна приказка за Снежната царкиня. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":

https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Mursal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great book! IT's my favorite picture book because it is so detailed, and makes me think of winter, even when it's summer!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always sublime art work. The story was sweet but predictable.

[Suvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not my preferred version of the story, I'm willing to forget that because the ending in this version is quite good as well. Instead of melting (aka getting hurt by love), the princess gets to be with Sergei and enjoy the beauty and joy of a mortal life). Sanderson's illustrations are absolutely magical: the warm glow of an early winter evening, the deep snow blanket of the forest, the ornate clothes (I prefer Father Frost to Santa Claus in that regard)... I'm not a winter person at all, but stories like this bring out the magic of winter.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I've actually read this one somewhere before. However it was a cute story so I didn't mind the de ja vu. To be honest I just liked looking at the pictures. Sometimes I wish adult books had pictures. If they're done well the seriously add to the story. and I don't need them on every page. Anyway moving on. It was a nice story that I could see reading to children.
Recommended? Sure
Buy/Borrow? Your preference here.

[Camila · Rating 4 out of 5]

To ne honest, I read this book because I was fascinated by the folklore in the Disney movie Frozen. The art in this book is très magnifique!!! I love how the Snow Princess (or Katia) wanted to explore the world and learn more about the people and their customs. She is a very intriguing character and I can definitely see how Disney molded her attributes into Elsa. Overall, a brilliant story and wonderful art ❤👸❄🌨☃️

[Timothy Morrison]

🎶From Russia with love I fly to you
Much wiser since my goodbye to you
I've travelled the world to learn
I must return from Russia with love
I've seen places
Faces and smiled for a moment
But oh, you haunted me so
Still my tongue tied, young pride
Would not let my love for you show
I case you say no
To Russia I flew but there and then
I suddenly knew you'd care again
My running around is through
I fly to you, from Russia with love

[Jessica Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, and a lovely sweet romantic story appropriate for children. A little bit of folklore and magic make this book wonderful. I wouldn't own it personally, but I'd be happy to check it out from the library again. I'd rather read about this snow pricess than Disney's Frozen anyday.

[Mloy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't exactly the Snowprincess I had in mind. I thought it was a retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen, but this tale turned out to be Russian in origin rather than Danish. Nonetheless, it was an interesting, albeit rather short, fairytale but still interesting.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Both the story and the illustrations are reminiscent of classic Russian folktales, but the tale is not simply a retelling of a familiar tale. The happy ending makes it appealing.

[Carli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that made me fall in love with books. I remember the magic of reading this book in kindergarten, and I still feel magic when I read it today. It is gorgeously illustrated, and I hope one day to pass it on to my future children.

[MelMon Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the animation in the pictures they are beautiful. Love is always hard and Katia gave up a life to be with her love Sergie. Not her whole lofe though for she has found happiness.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow, I think Ruth Sanderson is one of my new favorite illustrators. And she does a fine job with the text, too!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork, lovely story. If I had a child, or ever wanted to have a child, this would be one I would read to them.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ruth Anderson’s illustrations!

[Carol Hardesty · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright but it could've been SO MUCH BETTER. While the illustrations are beautiful, the story is unoriginal and the conflict is resolved a little too neatly.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book!--written and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations. Did she make the right choice? Meh. Younger me would have said yes; older and more jaded me thinks absolutely not!

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely retelling with amazing pictures.

[Completely Renée · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute story, I had to read it since one of the characters in the book I’m currently reading plays a snow princess inspired by the character from this story❄️