About the Author

CARLO COLLODI (1826-1890) was the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini. A native of Florence, Italy, he was a novelist and playwright. Pinocchio was first published in 1881 as Storia di un burratino (Story of a Puppet) in installments in a children s magazine. It appeared in book form in 1883 as The Adventures of Pinocchio.QUENTIN GREBAN was born in 1977 in Brussels, Belgium, where he still lives today. His books are published throughout the world. He received the Saint-Exupery Award in 2000, and his work was twice selected to be honored at the Bologna Children s Book Fair."

Reviews

"Snow White is not pretty in any conventional sense, but she's certainly young and vulnerable in this pleasing rendition of the Grimms' tale. Greban's watercolor views on the book cover and endpapers where the intruding girl lies asleep in one of seven small beds invite readers into the home of the dwarfs, a much happier place than the lonely forest in which Snow White is quickly abandoned once the story actually begins. Unlike most picture-book versions, Greban's text is faithful to the old story, omitting just a few details. Here the queen does not eat the heart and liver she believes to be Snow White's, but she does dance to her death in the red-hot iron shoes, bringing Snow White's wedding and the book to their old abrupt close. The pairing of the text and pictures will work especially well for read-aloud sharing. White text pages include smaller views and face full-page scenes. The artist is adroit in his choice of perspective and in creating mood. His clear, nicely articulated characters are most appealing in the varied personalities of the dwarfs and the old women who are the disguised queen. The book is more informal than Nancy Ekholm Burkert's handsome version (Farrar, 1987) with Randall Jarrell's text, and much more fulsome than the old Disney version that has dominated publication of this particular story. Every library should find it a most welcome introduction to Grimms' tales." School Library Journal"