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atnea's review against another edition
4.0
I read this when I was really little (more like I tried to read while my mother said the words to me).
Recently (for the moment), with the Frozen movie coming up, I was intrigued when I read it was mildly based in this book. So I said, well, I don't remember anything about it, so, why not? Besides, I read it Spanish when I was little, so it was even better to read it in English.
The story was fun, cute, kind of dark, typical childish ridiculousness that you can find in kids books, but with a major message behind it all, as always.
I've always though that good kids' books have this really big, dark, profound theme masked with cute things and not-so offensive villains. This story was no exception.
I did have a small disagreement with the my mother about the queen. I didn't actually though she was bad. I mean, she didn't exactly show any signs of it, she looked natural to me.
It was a really fun read, a little longer than what I expected, and easy to read. You should all read it at some point.
Recently (for the moment), with the Frozen movie coming up, I was intrigued when I read it was mildly based in this book. So I said, well, I don't remember anything about it, so, why not? Besides, I read it Spanish when I was little, so it was even better to read it in English.
The story was fun, cute, kind of dark, typical childish ridiculousness that you can find in kids books, but with a major message behind it all, as always.
I've always though that good kids' books have this really big, dark, profound theme masked with cute things and not-so offensive villains. This story was no exception.
I did have a small disagreement with the my mother about the queen. I didn't actually though she was bad. I mean, she didn't exactly show any signs of it, she looked natural to me.
It was a really fun read, a little longer than what I expected, and easy to read. You should all read it at some point.
korry_tza's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
cutenanya's review against another edition
4.0
The classic story on which Frozen is based, though Frozen has little in common with the original story. I liked this story because it depicts the innocence of children and how true love can thaw a frozen heart.
anna_w's review against another edition
3.0
3.5*
Not what I expected, but it was short and sweet all the same!
Not what I expected, but it was short and sweet all the same!
a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
3.0
A simple fairy tale where good prevails over evil. Short and sweet.
kcrawfish's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet tale with a very original beginning I don’t remember having heard before. The large mirror that turns the good reflected within as bad; it shatters, specks landing in peoples eyes and shards freezing their hearts. Who knew Frozen took that from the old story? Though the affects of the mirror aren’t the same as having your heart frozen by Elsa
casspro's review against another edition
2.0
I recently stage managed a production of "The Snow Queen" that based off of Andersen's fairy tale. Having never heard of the story before that show, and afterwards learning that this is what Frozen is very loosely based on, I thought I should read the original to get more insight.
I borrow this on as a hoopla audiobook and I don't know if it's how the story is written or how the narrator is presenting the audiobook but, it seems very strange and disjointed. I've not read many of Hans Christian Andersen to know how this compares with his other tales. By part 4 of the audiobook, the main heroine is still listening to the songs of flowers and crows and not hightailing her ass to rescue Kai. There's no sense of urgency, despite the bits of evil looking glass lodged in Kai's eye and heart, and his capture by a woman has the power to kiss him to death.
The play version kept true to the main plot lines of the tale, but if you're looking for Frozen: The Book, this ain't it.
I borrow this on as a hoopla audiobook and I don't know if it's how the story is written or how the narrator is presenting the audiobook but, it seems very strange and disjointed. I've not read many of Hans Christian Andersen to know how this compares with his other tales. By part 4 of the audiobook, the main heroine is still listening to the songs of flowers and crows and not hightailing her ass to rescue Kai. There's no sense of urgency, despite the bits of evil looking glass lodged in Kai's eye and heart, and his capture by a woman has the power to kiss him to death.
The play version kept true to the main plot lines of the tale, but if you're looking for Frozen: The Book, this ain't it.
vendea's review against another edition
5.0
For a very long time (well, not that long, but I was a child and time in general seemed long) this was the book that I considered my favorite. I think I read it five times in a row when I first got it.
supplantedbearer's review against another edition
2.0
Would Hans Christian Andersen have benefitted from the intervention of some Disney script doctors? Look, maybe. I certainly prefer the core metaphor of Frozen (the triumph of womanhood and sisterly love over patriarchal violence) to the metaphor here, which seems to be the vanquishing of paganism by Christian purity. Yikes.
I actually listened to this while travelling in Sweden, which was nicely serendipitous, though it made the story's outdated and culturally-insensitive use of the term "Lapp" all the more uncomfortable.
I actually listened to this while travelling in Sweden, which was nicely serendipitous, though it made the story's outdated and culturally-insensitive use of the term "Lapp" all the more uncomfortable.
gabmc's review against another edition
4.0
I can't believe I've never read this book before. I didn't even have a good idea of the story. At its heart it's a story about good and evil, told in seven chapters, featuring a young girl, Gerda, and her friend Kay. The first chapter is about an evil goblin who smashes a mirror into fragments so tiny that they can find their way into people's eyes and hearts. The mirror reversed how things looked - so anything beautiful looked ugly and anything ugly was magnified. We meet Gerda and her friend Kay in chapter two. Unfortunately, Kay gets tiny fragments of the mirror into his eye and heart. He eventually runs off to join the Snow Queen in her ice palace - his heart has turned to ice so he can't see anything wrong with the Snow Queen (and she is definitely no Elsa!). Gerda hunts for Kay and goes through several hurdles and meets some interesting characters, including a witch who imprisons her into a beautiful garden with talking flowers; a prince, princess and their talking crows; a family of robbers; a Lapp woman and a Finn woman before finally reaching the palace of the Snow Queen.