You might like to begin with this spellbinding animation of Raven Child and the Snow Witch.
Anya's mother sets off at the start of Spring, with a flock of ravens, to collect gentian flowers. I had never heard of these but after a little research I have discovered these pretty blue flowers represent justice and victory - and these are themes in this story.
Image Source: BBC Plant Finder
While waiting for her mother to return Anya falls asleep and she has a dream that her mother has been taken prisoner by the Snow Witch. Anya tells her father they need to set off straight away to rescue her but a Raven arrives with a broken wing. The Raven explains that he saw Anya's mother fall into a glacier - it seemed to swallow her and all of the Ravens.
The next day Anya, her father and the wounded Raven set off to the ice covered mountains. Close to the glacier they find a wounded Arctic Fox so now they are a group of four but it is Anya who marches bravey alone to confront the Snow Witch. This evil woman is filled with rage and power but Anya has a secret weapon - she has her own deep love for her mother and this is more powerful than the bitterness of the evil witch. The ice begins to melt and the Ravens lift the Snow Witch into the sky.
"The Snow Witch shrieked as her world began to melt and she felt her power failing. The ravens caught hold of her hair and pulled her upwards, crashing through the glacier like black fireworks. She shattered into a thousand jagged crystals that sank into the depths of the ocean."
The story in this book feels like a fairy tale (I am thinking of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen) and Linda Sunderland uses some beautiful phrases but the real magic in this book comes from the delicate illustrations. The snow looks so cold.
Today I visited a charity book sale (Lifeline Book Fair) and picked up 48 books for just $80. There are always treasures to be found at these regular fairs and the organisers have high standards to you can be sure the books are in great condition. Some books are in such great shape they look brand new. I don't think my book today has been read more than once in a family - it is in mint condition. It cost $2.
Raven Child and the Snow Witch was first published in 2016 by Templar in the UK but my copy is from Five Mile Press in Australia. I have the hardcover edition [9781760405144] and it is out of print but the paperback is still available. This is a longer picture book with 48 pages so I would share it with children aged 6+. This book will greatly appeal to fans of the movie Frozen too.
Daniel Egneus is a also a fashion illustrator. Born in Sweden, Daniel has lived in Prague, London, Berlin, Bologna, Rome, Milan and has now made Athens his base. I previously talked about The Thing and I have seen Moth and it is also a wonderful book.
No comments:
Post a Comment