written and illustrated by Mindy Dwyer
The evil Ice Queen, threatened by Snow White’s beauty (“lips redder than a salmonberry”) sends an assassin musher, then disguises herself as a trapper to deliver a constricting fur coat. Finally, she gets to Snow White as a friendly homesteader offering a peppermint drink that freezes our heroine. Thank goodness the Great Race means a handsome young musher finds Snow White—and warms her with love and a cozy fire. They mush happily ever after when the Ice Queen’s rage makes her skate right through the ice to her demise. Children and adults alike will enjoy this Alaskan take on the classic Snow White fairy tale.
“This is the story of Snow White, only it is set in Alaska. Snow White has dogs instead of dwarfs, and she is a sledding girl. She has to run from the queen, who is jealous of how beautiful she is, so she hides with her dogs in a cave. The queen is wicked and magical, and there are different ways the queen tried to kill Snow White: The second time, she gave Snow White a sleeping potion to drink, and another time she gave Snow White poisoned moose jerky to eat, but her dogs sniffed it. Also she made a rabbit-fur coat that squeezed Snow White’s breath out of her. At the end, the wicked queen skated to death on an icy pond. The pictures are beautiful and interesting; Snow White is very pretty. The pictures look very cold and snowy, like Alaska is, and there are icy mountains and animals from the Arctic. It has a lot of detail in the story that goes along with the pictures. I liked this version of Snow White.”
-Reviewed by Rachel, Age 8, San Francisco Book Review
Children and adults alike will enjoy this Alaskan take on the classic Snow White fairy tale. The evil Ice Queen, threatened by Snow White’s beauty (“lips redder than a salmonberry”) sends an assassin musher, then disguises herself as a trapper to deliver a constricting fur coat. Finally, she gets to Snow White as a friendly homesteader offering a peppermint drink that freezes our heroine. Thank goodness the Great Race means a handsome young musher finds Snow White—and warms her with love and a cozy fire. They mush happily ever after when the Ice Queen’s rage makes her skate right through the ice to her demise.
“This story is refreshingly different than original because of this winter twist, the setting being an Alaskan village. Snow White is no damsel in distress this time around! She is still the fairest of all the land, but now is also a brave and highly skilled Alaskan musher and fearless leader of her seven faithful sled dogs, which replace the classic dwarves. The Evil Ice Queen still uses a mirror but to be fairest of all is to be the best and most beautiful ice skater at the Ice Festival. The classic poisoned apple is replaced with a cold, Alaskan blue peppermint drink.
We truly enjoyed this enchanting retelling of the classic tale. I appreciated the Alaskan Snow White for all her new strengths! The book is a nice escape into the Alaskan traditions and ways of life. I was not surprised but very interested to learn that the author lived in Alaska for many years. The illustrations of this book are absolutely beautiful! The story line is considerably different in this retelling, and the artwork is gorgeous, but it leaves you wishing there was more beautiful artwork to accompany every single aspect of the story!“
–Great Advice From Great Moms
“Celebrated author and illustrator Mindy Dwyer returns with another delightful Alaska retelling of a classic tale. Joining Dwyer’s successful Alaska fairy tales (“The Salmon Princess” and “Alaska’s Sleeping Beauty”), this new book introduces a princess reimagined.” -Alaska Dispatch News