The Woodcutter and the Snow Prince is a beautifully illustrated, inclusive retelling of The Snow Queen. The story of how lonely woodcutter, Kai, falls in love with a cursed snow prince is told in a sensitive and heartwarming way and has a wonderfully ethereal, fairytale feel.
The Story: Every Christmas Eve, Kai carves statues for anyone who might pass by. Nobody ever does until one year he is visited by the Snow Prince. They spend a wonderful evening together at the snow palace but then Kai is magically whisked back to his cottage alone. He can’t forget the prince so makes the long journey to the palace. But the prince is frozen, imprisoned in his ice-palace. Can Kai break the curse and set the prince free?
Kai was brought up by his grandmother who believed the tales that were told about a cursed prince turning people to ice on Christmas Eve. But when the snow prince appears in Kai’s cottage, Kai is surprised to experience a magical snowy adventure which ends as the winter sun rises on Christmas Day. But Kai can’t forget about the prince so he decides to follow his heart.
We love the illustrations in The Woodcutter and The Snow Prince. The stark whiteness of the prince’s palace and the myriad of cool blues is contrasted with the colours of Kai’s clothes and the warmth of his cottage. Our favourite illustration is the final double spread but we won’t say any more as we don’t want to spoil the ending!
The endpapers are particularly beautiful with a map showing emotions at the beginning of the story in comparison to emotions at the end.
The Woodcutter and the Snow Prince is a wonderfully heartwarming story. Christmas can be a lonely time for many and Kai’s story can be used to stimulate discussion about how we can support others in need over the festive season.
Age Range: 4+
Author: Ian Eagleton / Illustrator: Davide Ortu
Thank you to Owlet Press for sending a review copy of this heartwarming festive story.
You can find more Christmas books, arts and crafts on Story Snug’s Pinterest Board;
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