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The Snow Queen and Other Winter Tales
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Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" has delighted readers for more than a century and inspired numerous adaptations. This anthology gathers 100 tales that share the winter theme of Andersen's classic. In addition to stories by Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, it includes works by Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Wilde, selections from Andrew Lang's fairy books, and
...more
Hardcover, Leather Bound, 736 pages
Published
August 31st 2015
by Barnes & Noble
(first published January 1st 1844)
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Start your review of The Snow Queen and Other Winter Tales
Oct 30, 2012
Ahmad Sharabiani
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-young-readers,
classic,
english-language,
literature,
19th-century,
fantasy,
danish
nedronningen = The Snow Queen, Hans Christian Andersen
The Snow Queen (Danish: Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 in New Fairy Tales. The story centres on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai. The Snow Queen is a tale told in seven stories (Danish: Historier): 1 - About the Mirror and Its Pieces. 2 - A Little Boy and a Little Girl. 3 - The Flower Garden ...more
The Snow Queen (Danish: Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 in New Fairy Tales. The story centres on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai. The Snow Queen is a tale told in seven stories (Danish: Historier): 1 - About the Mirror and Its Pieces. 2 - A Little Boy and a Little Girl. 3 - The Flower Garden ...more
3 stars
I picked up The Snow Queen because I'm trying to fit in a few more Christmas reads and I got it free from audible. The narration was good, but the story was just okay for me. I know a lot of people love this story and read it as children... this was my first read through. It was only about an hour to listen. I liked it, but compared to my last holiday audible listen it just missed the mark for me.
I picked up The Snow Queen because I'm trying to fit in a few more Christmas reads and I got it free from audible. The narration was good, but the story was just okay for me. I know a lot of people love this story and read it as children... this was my first read through. It was only about an hour to listen. I liked it, but compared to my last holiday audible listen it just missed the mark for me.
Nov 08, 2016
Hilary
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those looking for fairytale books with amazing illustrations
This is a favourite winter read of my favourite childhood fairy tale. The story starts with Kay and Gerda pressing hot pennies against the ice on the inside of their windows to see out and there's a full page illustration of this. There is a double page illustration of the snow queen taking Kay away, the sledge pulled by a dapple grey horse accompanied by ice chickens and the world below looking like a scene from a Bruegel painting. The chapter of the little robber girl is accompanied by a
...more
This was one of my favorite stories as a very young child.
I hadn't re-read this short tale in many many years. My thoughts upon rereading:
Well, it's more sentimental than I remembered, and the tone, especially at the beginning, is almost verging on patronizing in the way it addresses the (presumably young) reader/listener. As a child, I don't think I picked up on that at all. It's also more overtly Christian/religious than I remembered. (I've noticed that about a good number of the 19th-century ...more
I hadn't re-read this short tale in many many years. My thoughts upon rereading:
Well, it's more sentimental than I remembered, and the tone, especially at the beginning, is almost verging on patronizing in the way it addresses the (presumably young) reader/listener. As a child, I don't think I picked up on that at all. It's also more overtly Christian/religious than I remembered. (I've noticed that about a good number of the 19th-century ...more
Dec 14, 2014
Carole (Carole's Random Life in Books)
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2015,
audio-book
This was a nice story. I hope to listen to it again in one sitting. I think I may have lost some of the story with all of the stopping and starting I did.
I still don't feel compelled to watch Frozen after listening to this story.
I still don't feel compelled to watch Frozen after listening to this story.
Dec 19, 2008
Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fairy tale aficionados
This is my favorite fairy tale, hands down. If I'm honest, I'm such a huge fan of snow and cold weather. The idea of snow becoming personified makes a lot of sense, because winter does seem to have a life of its own. I love in Texas, and we don't get much winter, but I grew up with it. I miss it so much! Reading this book makes me long for a good winter.
Along with the evocative imagery of winter, there is a very emotional and spiritual love story. Kay and Gerda share a strong emotional bond, but ...more
Along with the evocative imagery of winter, there is a very emotional and spiritual love story. Kay and Gerda share a strong emotional bond, but ...more
3.5 Stars
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen was a beautiful story.
I listened to this one on audio while wrapping Christmas presents in front of the fire.
What great company this little book was.
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen was a beautiful story.
I listened to this one on audio while wrapping Christmas presents in front of the fire.
What great company this little book was.
I remember being bored when I read this story as a child, and reading it again now, nothing has really changed for me. The Snow Queen starts out interestingly enough, and the imagery throughout is good, but as for the actual storyline... It is very long and discursive, and as in many fairy tales, the events seem very random, and the reader tends to lose the main thread. It is the sort of story which could make a marvellous stage production, with all its imaginative possibilities, or a film or TV
...more
Far more enjoyable than anticipated, though I think partly due to the wonderful geometric illustrations that accompanied the story.
It is a fairly simple story with basic imagery and not a particularly great translation (I find all translations to be rather dire and wish the babel fish only existed) but it was an enjoyable read due to its simplicity. It feels almost unique in that there are heart-warming notions but no in-your-face morals.
Characters and dialogue were vague and shaky at best, ...more
It is a fairly simple story with basic imagery and not a particularly great translation (I find all translations to be rather dire and wish the babel fish only existed) but it was an enjoyable read due to its simplicity. It feels almost unique in that there are heart-warming notions but no in-your-face morals.
Characters and dialogue were vague and shaky at best, ...more
Nov 26, 2017
Matt
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s,
read-with-neo
In this retelling of a Hans Christian Andersen classic, two young children have their friendship torn apart when a curse befalls one of them and he disappears. The Snow Queen lures him away, off to do her bidding. When the young girl goes looking for her friend, she is pulled in many directions and ends up hitting a dead end on more than one occasion. However, determination and the power of her love breaks down a wall or two and thaws a frozen heart, which allows the truth to triumph over all.
...more
The Snow Queen was a free gift to audible members…last winter. It’s been loaded on my app for quite some time without really catching my interest. I made the decision to read it when I started season 4 of Once Upon a Time.
The narration was really great and I enjoyed the story. I have never watched Frozen. I was worried about that for a while because it was the movie everyone was talking about it… I had to let it go…
No one?
Alright. Can’t blame me, can you?
Anyway, it’s worth a read. The story is ...more
The narration was really great and I enjoyed the story. I have never watched Frozen. I was worried about that for a while because it was the movie everyone was talking about it… I had to let it go…
No one?
Alright. Can’t blame me, can you?
Anyway, it’s worth a read. The story is ...more
Well, I'm not gonna turn down an audible freebie now am I?
Their take:
Their take:
The Snow Queen will be free until January 31, 2015....more
Audible's 2014 Narrator of the Year Julia Whelan performs one of Hans Christian Andersen's most beloved fairy tales, The Snow Queen. This classic tale is a fantastical fable of two dear friends - one of whom goes astray and is literally lost to the north woods, while the other undertakes an epic journey to rescue him. This charming, strange, and wonderful story is a timeless
Very dark but interesting. My full review will be up on my booktube channel at http://YouTube.com/peterlikesbooks
Audible freebie (like everyone else). I listened to this one while trying, and failing, to take a nap. Stupid stuffyrunnysore nose. >_<
I did like the reading of this one. I think that Julia Whelan had the right kind of voice for this story, and handled all of the characters well. She gave them each their own personality but didn't overwhelm the character with cartoonish voices.
The story... well, it was a little innocently simplistic for me, and none of it really made any sense (why would ...more
I did like the reading of this one. I think that Julia Whelan had the right kind of voice for this story, and handled all of the characters well. She gave them each their own personality but didn't overwhelm the character with cartoonish voices.
The story... well, it was a little innocently simplistic for me, and none of it really made any sense (why would ...more
Disney's Frozen said it was based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. That's what piqued my interest in this classic. So, after reading this, I can say fairly that Frozen is VERY loosely based. I found elements that contribute to the world and lore in which Elsa becomes the Snow Queen, but Hans's Snow Queen is less endearing. In short, I'll place the Snow Queen / Frozen comparison in the category of good book, great movie, but each in their own right.
Regarding edition, the Kindle ebook ...more
Regarding edition, the Kindle ebook ...more
It seems that Frozen was inspired by this story but I can't see much of a similarity. Really liked the determined little girl who sought after her lost playfellow. The phrase birds of a feather flock together stuck out to me and I looked it up to see if this was the first time it had appeared in literature. It wasn't. Apparently the origin of the phrase was William Turner's 1545 version of it in The Rescuing of Romish Fox: "Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together." Though
...more
First published in 1844, The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson is a delightfully charming, if somewhat dated, fantasy – back when fantasies were called faerie tales.
Told in seven parts, Anderson borrows liberally from Christian themes and pre-Christian myth to create a richly complex, but simply entertaining story that children will enjoy and adults will find amusing, especially the classical, Biblical and mythic references that may be lost, unapologetically so, on a younger reader.
C.S. ...more
Told in seven parts, Anderson borrows liberally from Christian themes and pre-Christian myth to create a richly complex, but simply entertaining story that children will enjoy and adults will find amusing, especially the classical, Biblical and mythic references that may be lost, unapologetically so, on a younger reader.
C.S. ...more
Dec 19, 2014
David
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Clever boys and girls, icy queens, crows thinking about retirement
This Audible freebie is a nice way to hear the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. It's not a particularly thrilling fable - boys meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back - though really, it's the girl who does the getting.
The story starts with an evil hobgoblin (also referred to as a demon) who goes to magic school (why did Rowling not find a way to hook this into her mythology?) and creates a magic mirror which shows "reality" in the harshest, ugliest way possible. It is ...more
The story starts with an evil hobgoblin (also referred to as a demon) who goes to magic school (why did Rowling not find a way to hook this into her mythology?) and creates a magic mirror which shows "reality" in the harshest, ugliest way possible. It is ...more
I kind of like this. I was a little lost at the end but overall I thought it was really interesting. It's really different from what I'm used to and I'm really interested in the old interpretations of our modern retelling of the stories. The author definitely has an interesting imagination
Beautifully written and incredibly intriguing, I didn't absolutely love it but I didn't dislike it. Just a very nice, quick read to start the year. I can also see little fragments of it in Frozen!
So what do you do on a hot and sticky day - thats right read a book about snow and ice. I came across an opportunity to pick up a copy of the Snow Queen in the Everyman Children's Classic series and leapt at it.
So after 95 pages of what I feel is quintessential Hans Christian Anderson here I am and I must admit that it did not disappoint. Like a lot in the series (and what seems to be a growing trend) the book used illustrations from one its famous predecessors. As such it completes the whole ...more
So after 95 pages of what I feel is quintessential Hans Christian Anderson here I am and I must admit that it did not disappoint. Like a lot in the series (and what seems to be a growing trend) the book used illustrations from one its famous predecessors. As such it completes the whole ...more
I. LOVE. THIS. STORY.
Yes, this is a fairy tale that I plan to tell my children before I tuck them into bed at night. Holy cow.
This is the tale of a boy and a girl. Simple enough, right? The story hasn't even begun and you know it will be good.
It all begins with a mirror. Made by demons in the pits of Hades, this mirror takes everything good that looks into it and makes it the exact opposite. The better of a person you are, the worse it makes you look.
This mirror shatters. Shards fall to the ...more
Yes, this is a fairy tale that I plan to tell my children before I tuck them into bed at night. Holy cow.
This is the tale of a boy and a girl. Simple enough, right? The story hasn't even begun and you know it will be good.
It all begins with a mirror. Made by demons in the pits of Hades, this mirror takes everything good that looks into it and makes it the exact opposite. The better of a person you are, the worse it makes you look.
This mirror shatters. Shards fall to the ...more
One day, when the Devil was feeling very good about himself, he created a special mirror. The mirror took everything that was good and beautiful in the world and turned it into bad and ugly, and when things were bad and ugly it did the opposite. When the goblins – the Devil’s pupils tried to fly to Heaven, to mock angels, the mirror laughed so much that it slipped from goblins’ hands and shattered into millions of pieces when it hit the ground. Some of those pieces were so small that they could
...more
This was another audiobook that Audible gave away for free. Unfortunately this was as bad as the last freebie offering. This was a dreadful bore. Thankfully it was a short read.
Rating: 2 stars.
Audio Note: Even the excellent Julia Whelan could not save this story.
Rating: 2 stars.
Audio Note: Even the excellent Julia Whelan could not save this story.
3.5 stars!
An excellent fairy tale. Fairy tales should first scare you and then resolve happily. This fits that bill. It must be entertaining to both the adult reading the tale and the child. I admit it; I was tense, annoyed and worried ....and then happy. If the parent is bored, it is not a good fairy tale. The child will feel your own emotional response.
Hans Christian Andersen knew how to write stories for both adults and kids. I chuckled. I marveled at the author's ability to create an exciting story, ...more
Hans Christian Andersen knew how to write stories for both adults and kids. I chuckled. I marveled at the author's ability to create an exciting story, ...more
Jun 03, 2017
Mackey
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
children-and-classics
The Snow Queen is one of my favorite tales from my childhood. I grew up in the southern US where it never snowed so the imagery of so much snow and ice, reindeer and beauty always astounded me. Although I've moved north, while re-reading this story, that beauty still does overwhelm me.
I had no idea that this was the premise for Disney's "Frozen" since I don't do Disney and even now I'm rather taken aback at the thought. The Snow Queen has so many layers, different stories, tales within tales ...more
I had no idea that this was the premise for Disney's "Frozen" since I don't do Disney and even now I'm rather taken aback at the thought. The Snow Queen has so many layers, different stories, tales within tales ...more
After listening to a Myth and Legends' and Disney Origins' podcasts, both tackling this story, I had to read it, even though I already knew everything about it from the two podcasts.
It's weird how "Frozen" is labeled is being adapted or whatever from this story, because other than Snow being an important part of the story, THEY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON! Disney's Frozen and Hanz's Snow Queen are very different stories.
Now onto this story, it's my first full-length story I've read by the guy ...more
It's weird how "Frozen" is labeled is being adapted or whatever from this story, because other than Snow being an important part of the story, THEY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON! Disney's Frozen and Hanz's Snow Queen are very different stories.
Now onto this story, it's my first full-length story I've read by the guy ...more
![Sammm [involuntarily somewhat on hiatus]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1430843472p2/42799394.jpg)
Sep 22, 2016
Sammm [involuntarily somewhat on hiatus]
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who thought "Frozen" was a retelling of this book
A digitized ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For the reprimand of fans' misconception for a certain Disney film, please stick to the very end.
ISBN13 9780399578519 is the ebook for this version (published by Ten Speed Press and released on the same day), both are the first American editions, though the original English hardcover of this specific version has already been published by Hutchinson last year in the UK: ISBN13 9780091959005.
...more
For the reprimand of fans' misconception for a certain Disney film, please stick to the very end.
ISBN13 9780399578519 is the ebook for this version (published by Ten Speed Press and released on the same day), both are the first American editions, though the original English hardcover of this specific version has already been published by Hutchinson last year in the UK: ISBN13 9780091959005.
...more
Jan 07, 2019
Abigail
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fairy-Tale Lovers / Anyone Who Values Beautiful Picture-Book Art
The Snow Queen, illustrated by Vladyslav Yerko.
Published in the Ukraine, this beautiful edition of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale retains the format of the original, with seven "chapters" or parts. When young Kay is pierced with slivers of a demonic goblin's mirror, his heart turns to ice and he can only see the bad around him. Kidnapped by the Snow Queen, Kay is taken to the far north, where he becomes caught up in the "icy game of reason," and forgets everything he has ever loved. His ...more
Published in the Ukraine, this beautiful edition of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale retains the format of the original, with seven "chapters" or parts. When young Kay is pierced with slivers of a demonic goblin's mirror, his heart turns to ice and he can only see the bad around him. Kidnapped by the Snow Queen, Kay is taken to the far north, where he becomes caught up in the "icy game of reason," and forgets everything he has ever loved. His ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play Book Tag: The Snow Queen and Other Tales / Hans Christian Anderson. 2.25 stars | 1 | 10 | Dec 10, 2017 09:46AM | |
| Around the Year i...: The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson | 1 | 8 | Sep 19, 2017 09:09PM | |
| The Gothic Novel ...: would anyone like to read the Snow Queen for Dec. | 2 | 30 | Sep 22, 2016 02:30PM |
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Hans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories — called eventyr, or "fairy-tales" — express themes that transcend age and nationality.
Andersen's fairy tales, ...more
Andersen's fairy tales, ...more
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“I can give her no greater power than she has already, said the woman; don't you see how strong that is? How men and animals are obliged to serve her, and how well she has got through the world, barefooted as she is. She cannot receive any power from me greater than she now has, which consists in her own purity and innocence of heart. If she cannot herself obtain access to the Snow Queen, and remove the glass fragments from little Kay, we can do nothing to help her.”
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“When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now...”
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