Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs

A Tale from the Brothers Grimm: Translated by Randall Jarrell / Illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert

As a Caldecott Honor Book, this rendition of the fairy tale Snow White  is told through both the text as well as the illustrations. The  story is translated from the Brothers Grimm and has by no means been shorted or "diluted" by the author. This original tale includes details such as the huntsman bringing the lung and liver of a young boar to the queen (in lieu of Snow White's), the queen's attempt to kill Snow White with a tight bodice, the poisonous apple being dislodged from Snow White's throat during the transport of her coffin, and the queen's death from dancing on shoes heated by coals. The Grimm's tale differs from the Walt Disney version in that it contains thematic elements which may be considered  "too harsh" for a young audience (death, body parts, blood). Most children have only been exposed to the Disney version of this fairy tale, so this story line and its details will be new and different. After reading this book to a second grade class, the students made comments such as: "The book is wrong. The prince saves Snow White!", "She (the queen) didn't try to hurt her with a tight dress!" and "What does the queen want her lungs for?!" I was able to teach these students the concept of story "versions." However, the majority of them said they preferred the Disney version (I think this was due to the fact that the Disney version was what they were first exposed to.) 

The illustrations in this book coincide with the text.  Snow White is portrayed as a young girl (not a woman) who possesses innocent and child-like physical features.  Her skin literally appears "white as snow" in contrast with her ever-blushing pink cheeks. Her hair is long and flowing and her figure is small and dainty. The illustrator attempted to match her physical features with her personality as described in the text. Every illustrated page contains one double-paged boarder, with exception to the centerfold. The center-fold of the book contains the most detailed and symbolic images. The scene depicting the tight bodice murder attempt by the queen is illustrated and placed with a boarder at the left lower corner of the illustration. It almost looks as though someone took a picture of this scene and "placed it" on top of the main illustration.  The illustrator includes several symbolic images within this main illustration that require knowledge of the tale's background and history (county emblems, a buck jumping over a boar, a red dragon eating a rabbit, the sun "pointing to" the letter "n" and the angel head and wings which appear on each corner.) The image of the infamous "mirror" which appears on the front end page also contains this technique. The words "Os Veritatis" (Latin for "The Truth") appear on top of the mirror while the inside shape of the mirror resembles the shape of the stones on which the Ten Commandments are written in many Bible illustrations. The animal the "Lion" is prevalent in this illustration as well as in other pages in the book. A lion signifies strength and protection. The illustrator includes this symbol to represent the reader's feelings of "wanting to protect" Snow White as they read the book. 

I use this book in my classroom because of its original text content and symbolic illustrations. I can discuss so many different topics when reading this with my students. I like to use it with younger grades to discuss its similarities and differences to