Snow White in New York

by Fiona French

Pulsating with the rhythm and vibrancy of the Jazz Age, this dazzling picture book is set in New York City in the 1920s. The story may be familiar, but the cast of characters will surprise you. Snow White is a beautiful jazz baby, protected by seven hot jazzmen. Instead of a wicked stepmother, her arch-enemy is the Queen of the Underworld. And her Prince Charming is a crack reporter from the New York Mirror . The breezy and clever text complements the style and color of the art deco illustrations, making this a picture book of astonishing originality. This winner of The Kate Greenaway Medal is at last available in paperback.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Family, New York, Childrens, Art

32 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 1989

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a good retelling of snow white, it was interesting to see this well known classic set in the jazz era of New York. The art deco style of the illustrations also helps set the feel of this era, they were interesting and used some nice colours. A quick fun read.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now Fiona French's Jazz Age America adaptation of the Brothers' Grimm tale of Schneewittchen (Snow White) is generally and for all intents and purposes entertaining, musically fun and engaging (and I do absolutely love the seven dwarves of the Grimms' original becoming seven jazz musicians, that Snow White is poisoned by a tainted cherry in her alcoholic cocktail, as that fits so well with regard to time and place and yes, also could likely and uproariously infuriate some if not many fanatical puritans to no end, not to mention that Snow White ends up marrying not a prince but a handsome newspaper reporter, which certainly has made me smile appreciatively, albeit that the ending of Snow White in New York is indeed a bit colourless, as I do rather miss having something terrible happen to the evil stepmother, as is the case in the Grimms' Schneewittchen where she gets to dance herself to death).

However and from a personal aesthetics point of view, while I do indeed much appreciate the accompanying illustrations as colourful, adept and imaginatively, expressively realistic with regard to 1920s America and especially New York (and as such well deserving of the 1986 Kate Greenaway Medal that Snow White in New York was awarded), they are still and nevertheless a bit too jazzy and cartoony for my personal tastes (and the evil stepmother, the evil queen who seems in Snow White in New York to perhaps be a Mafia Boss, as she is described by the author as being the Queen of the Underworld, honestly, if I had seen picture book illustrations like that as a child, I probably would have had major nightmares). Three and a half stars for Snow White in New York (rounded up to four stars, as even with my personal issues with the accompanying pictures, they do work exceedingly and actually absolutely perfectly in conjunction with and to author/illustrator Fiona French's presented, adapted retelling, with her narrative, and surprisingly for me, even the fact that there is no author's note and no acknowledgment of the Grimms' as original authors of the Snow White theme have really bothered me all that much with Snow White in New York, although I do still think that Fiona French really should have mentioned Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's names).

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is an incredibly short read with very little text, but plenty of bright & cheerful illustrations of New York in the art deco age. Not as exciting as I was expecting, but still quite enjoyable.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a clever retelling: the Snow White fairy tale during Jazz Age in roaring New York City. Snow White is a flapper and the toast of the town. The Evil Queen is a Mafia boss. Prince Charming is a newspaper reporter. The seven dwarfs are replaced by seven jazz musicians. The Evil Queen poisons Snow White with a poisoned cherry (since Appletini's weren't a thing in the 1920s) dropped into her cocktail (during Prohibition!). This story decides to go with the traditional stumble-causes-the-poisoned-fruit-to-become-dislodged instead of the (overdone) True Love's Kiss. It's short, it's snazzy, it's fizzy, it's clever. But perhaps the best part is the artwork. It's Art Deco style with long, slender, sharply angled women, bright splashes of color and beautiful geometric designs.

[Kym · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunningly stylised to depict New York in the dazzling decade of the 1920s. Glorious example of ways that we can change the setting and context of a traditional tale and explore how these changes will affect characters, storylines and key props. Great to explore these changes with children and as a basis to ask children how they might change Snow White. Also good book to use if introducing art and design from the 20s.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library book - okay, full disclosure. This was a "for Mama" book, not a "for Charlotte" book. It's an Art Deco-style illustrated Snow White tale. It's still a little over Charlotte's head, but I really enjoyed it. Charlotte leafed through it a few times.

In this story, Snow White is a high-society girl whose father marries a Queen of the Underworld dame, and then dies. The Queen likes to see herself in the New York Daily Mirror every day. One day, Snow White steals her headline as the most beautiful person in New York...and you can imagine what happens next. Instead of dwarves, Snow White hangs with a jazz band. Instead of a prince, there is an intrepid cub reporter. The story is bare bones, just a few lines per page, but it's not about well-crafted prose for me. It's a clever (brief) retelling that perfectly matches it's stylistic illustrations. I do have a really hard time imagining it appealing to kids, though.

[Ellie L · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting take on the traditional tale, and I felt that it was quite intriguing to change the time period to the 1920's, and revolve the events around a different setting. However, I do feel that the ending of the text was somewhat anti-climatic and did not give a reasonable explanation for Snow White's revival. I had been really enjoying the twist up until then.
Nevertheless, this book would still be a useful stem to introduce children to rewriting stories.

[LauraW · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be a good candidate for inclusion in an upper grades unit on multiple versions of classic stories / fairy tales. It really only works if students are already familiar with the classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which cannot necessarily be assumed nowadays. Good illustrations. I would find it interesting to have students analyze what parts of the classic story work and don't work in a more modern setting. What has been left out? What has been added? Why?

[Beccy Swanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun retelling and beautiful illustrations but I wanted more detail - what are the seven jazz men like, how is snow White's life before the wicked stepmother, what about snow White's father?

[Sue Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the big, bold, art-deco illustrations and I love familiar stories transposed to different times and settings. Snow White lives in New York, during the jazz age of the 1920s - 30s and whilst it's still her stepmother who's jealous of her, she is looked after by jazz players, poisoned by a cherry and falls in love with a reporter from the New York Mirror. There's some interesting language to explore; 'poor little rich girl', 'dame' and 'underworld' amidst a straightforward retelling of the classic story we all know. That's fine because but it's the art that needs time and attention in this book. Pages need lingering over, shadowy figures spotted, details in fingernails, earrings and eyes noted, movement in the silhouetted musicians appreciated and the scale of New York City acknowledged.

[Rebecca Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting spin on a traditional tale. This book sees the seven dwarfs as seven jazz-men and the Mirror as the New York Mirror, cleverly portrayed as a newspaper. It was interesting to see this traditional tale change to a different time period as it is changed to the 1920s/30s. Throughout this book, it has very colourful illustrations. That is until Snow White dies and the illustrations become grey which symbolises the sadness and gloom that the city is experiencing. The ending, I feel, is quite anti-climatic as we do not know how Snow White resurrects; all we know is the first person she sees is the news reporter. I would use this book with children when looking at how we can rewrite stories as I think that this is a very good example.

[Laura Stefanovic]

Personally, this book would only be suitable in older classrooms, and even then I'm not sure it is the most appropriate.

Although this book has won awards and is looked upon as a modernised version of Snow White, I believe some of the language and actions within this book such as alcohol and club related, I do not feel is most appropriate for the classroom, and certainly for younger year groups I don't think there would be much of an understanding made.

[Hannah Higson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not sure about this book.
Love the art work and setting.
Am not sure about the way it is written. Would potentially use this book then get children to rewrite sentences to make them better.

[Philippa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern take on a fairy tale- could rewrite their own favourite as a modern version (year 6s?)

[Emma Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustration in this book and how it was based on some 1920's themes we usually see in modern media. It almost reminded me of the book "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." I also like how true to New York this book was. I thought it followed a lot of the stereotypes you would see about New York in the early 20th century. If you were to look at this book without reading the title you would know it was New York. I also thought some of the jokes made were funny. However, I'm not sure I loved this version of snow white as much as some of the others in the post-modern category. I also think that if you were to read this book to a group of children it should be older ones. That way the references are understood and the jokes made by the author are able to be funny and understood.

[Ruqayyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars for the joys of reading this when I was younger. Several times.
I did read it again the other day just for nostalgia- shall I add it to my reading goal? LOL I might just leave it out

[Ana Varó · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chulisima la temática, me encantó, el final un poco meh

[Ben Hagan]

Set in the 1930's in a jazz-like New York City, the book takes a spin on the original story of Snow White. This imitation of this book portrays the dwarfs as musicians and the much loved snow-white as a famous socialite.
I particularly liked how the mirror was portrayed as a 'newspaper', something very relevant to society today and the prince, now a reporter. The writer/illustrator has thought long and hard about the adaptation of the book and this shows in the imagery used in the book.
This would be a great book to use in KS2 when looking at tweaking and changing setting of stories. Chn would be aware of the plot to the original so would create discussion about they liked about the imitated and innovated story. Would be a good book for Corbett's Imitate, Innovate and Invent sequence of teaching.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars. eBook. This book is set during the 1920s, which means yet another undesired book prompt is resolved with a children's book. This story was recycled Disney junk with a very strange illustration style. Not the best, but an extra star was given for helping me meet this prompt.

[Ellie Morland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adaptation of a classic novel. Interesting read.

[Lauren Edgar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great twist on the classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" that everyone knows and loves. This book is set back in the 1920's and takes place in New York City, Snow White's dad marries the queen of the underworld. As she wanders the streets of New York she comes upon a Jazz Club where she meets 7 jazz band members, instead of the classically known dwarfs. They end up taking her in and making her the lead singer of the band. Once the queen finds out about this and how popular Snow White is becoming instead of a poison apple the evil step mother poisons Snow Whites drink. The day everyone attends her funeral something very strange happens!! The illustrations are beautiful and a great addition to this book. It gives children a great look into the 1920's through a classic tale they know and love. I would recommend this for a personal reading book although would not read aloud to my classroom simply because the story is more geared towards girls, I don't know how much the boys would enjoy this book. Although its a great book to have at home or recommend to your girls. And hopefully it will get them interested in the 1920's and the jazz era!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very unique story. I have always loves Snow White which is why I initially chose this book. The storyline was similar but so different at the same time. This version of the fairy tale takes place in New York City during the 1920s, Snow White is alone wandering the streets and she finds herself entering a jazz club. This is where we meet the “dwarfs” who in this version really aren’t dwarfs at all, they are jazz singers. The seven jazz singers become fond of Snow White and even make her the lead singer of the band. This is all very exciting and happy but of course this story wouldn’t be Snow White if it didn’t include an “evil witch”. The witch actual is married to Snow White’s dad but does not like that she is the leader singer so she decides to poison her. Instead of an apple this more civilized version uses a poisoned drink instead. Don’t worry I won’t give any spoilers as to how this version ends but I will tell you that this entire book is nothing short of interesting.

[Gen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set in the 1920s, the jazz era, in New York City. Snow White's Dad married the Queen of the Underworld (random). Snow White is the lead singer of a jazz band of 7 singers (the dwarfs). When Snow White's mother realized how popular she was becoming, the Queen poisoned the cherry in Snow White's martini. The prince charming is a New York newspaper reporter and we can all guess what happens in the end. The entire book is set during the 1920s: the setting and the illustrations inspired by that era too. They have this art-deco geometric style to it which is attention-grabbing yet distracting as well. This book is more of a choice-read book, one that children (most likely girls) will pick to read during reading time, rather than a read-aloud. Otherwise, this book has a fun twist and I enjoyed reading it.

[Ryan Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow White in New York is a great way to teach children a little bit more about Americas culture in a fun way. The book follows the classic Snow White story but with a few twists. Snow White is a jazz child who is raised by seven jazz men rather than seven dwarfs. As for her prince charming, he is simply a New York reporter. In essence this story is Snow White for the 1920’s Jazz era. The colorful illustrations in this postmodern picture book build on this great rework of an American classic. This story would be great for young girls already in love with the classic story, although I feel that boys would enjoy this book as well. Great book overall!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern view of the fairy tale Snow White set in New York. Follows the same story line - Evil stepmother, 7 men, poisoned and finds love at the end. Quite interesting to see how the fairytale takes place in today's society. Creative writing for children to see how other fairy tales could have a modern twist.

Cross Curricular Links:
- English, Writing form a different perspective, modernising a classic fairy tale.
- Drama, Acting parts of the story.
- History, Research on fairy tales.

[Ellie Abrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern retelling of the popular traditional tale. Set in New York, Snow White is a socialite who is banished by her stepmother, who requests she is killed by her bodyguard. When the bodyguard is unable to do this, she joins a jazz band where she sings and becomes quite famous. Jealous of Snow White once again, the stepmother poisons Snow White with a cherry in her cocktail.

This has beautiful illustrations.

[Brittanie Rieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love fairytale twists and modernization. I have a thing for the twenties too, so I guess they build off of each other. The book seems a little fast paced for me with all the past time stuff, but it's simple enough for the children to grasp. Very interesting to make a twist on snow white, I've never seen one this interesting.

[Susan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short illustrated picture book in which the tale of Snow White is relocated to 1920’s New York, (think Great Gatsby era) and the illustrations are absolutely fantastic.

This is obviously a children’s book and the story is the Snow White we all know, but if you like the the 1920’s art-deco geometric style illustration aesthetic its a pretty book just to admire.

[Bloodorange · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loaned it for the illustrations, and, sadly, no illustrations inside compare to the brilliant cover. Also, much as I like the concept of placing the Snow White's story in Jazz Age New York, the story in this book is very simple, and I think a child old enough to compare it to the original may well be able to appreciate much more challenging storytelling.

[Alice Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story with vibrant and colourful illustrations that carry the reader through the story until the death of Snow White, when all colour fades to grey to symbolise how she brought happiness to a gloomy city. I would teach the children about the 1920s period alongside this, we would create our own music and design our own pictures.