Hans Christian Andersen's «The Snow Queen»

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

Described as “A fairy tale told in seven stories,” this retelling of
Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of love’s triumph over hatred and
gloom begins with a nasty magician inventing a mirror that makes the
good and attractive turn evil and horrid. The mirror shatters into
millions of fragments, each with its own sinister powers.

In Ken Setterington’s retelling, young Kay and Gerda are friends who
share a tiny garden. When the evil Snow Queen sends two mirror splinters
into Kay’s eye and heart, the boy is transformed and scorns Gerda. Kay
sets out to find the Snow Queen, but Gerda is equally determined to find
Kay. She traces him to the Snow Queen’s palace, where her tears thaw
his heart and wash the glass splinter from his eye. Kind local people
help the pair to escape and return home. Soon “the icy splendour of
the Snow Queen’s palace vanish[es] like a forgotten dream.”

Nelly and Ernst Hofer chose to illustrate the tale using the ancient
art of papercutting, an artform enjoyed and practised by Andersen
himself. The delicate, dramatic black silhouettes are in this tradition
of “Scherenschnitt.” The mood they create is perfectly suited to a
gothic tale. The Snow Queen is a beautiful picture book for children of
all ages. Highly recommended.