Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy-tale, The Snow Queen, is presented in simplified form, together with the iconic artwork of Dutch illustrator Rie Cramer in this picture-book. Most of the basic elements of the original tale are here, from the introductory story about the devil's mirror (here it is a wizard's mirror) to the conclusion in which Gerda rescues Kay from his icy imprisonment. A notable exception to this would be the section involving the Lapp and Finnmark women, which here includes only the Finnish woman. That said, although most of the story elements are represented, the telling itself is very simple. Each two-page spread features a paragraph of text on the left-hand side, and a full-page color painting on the right.

Originally published in Danish in 1844, The Snow Queen was then translated and adapted into Ducth by Rie Cramer in her three-volume Sprookjes van Hans Andersen, in 1915. This adaptation was then translated into English in 1953, for the British publisher Blackie & Son, and reprinted in this more recent edition by the Glasgow-based Geddes and Grosset in 1995. All of which is to say, this version of The Snow Queen is a translation of a translation, or rather, a translation of a translated adaptation. It is definitely not one of the better versions of the tale that I have come across, text wise, but then, I sought it out solely for the artwork, as Rie Cramer is considered one of the iconic Dutch youth illustrator of the early to mid-twentieth century. She was, together with Anton Pieck, the main illustrator for Zonneschijn ("Sunshine"), the most popular secular Dutch youth magazine in the 1920s and 30s. She also wrote and illustrated many books for young people. All of which information has made me very eager to track down some of her work.

Unfortunately, despite my anticipation, I found this something of a let-down. As mentioned, the text is not particularly strong, with an overly declarative style that makes me think I am reading a string of factual statements, rather than a story. The artwork was beautiful - brilliantly colorful, with an appealing Art Nouveau sensibility - but sometimes a little too sweet for my taste. My favorite of the lot, when it came to Cramer's paintings, was the one with Gerda and her roses, but overall I wasn't as impressed as I'd hoped to be. I still intend to track down more of Cramer's work, and I would particularly like to read some of the original stories she wrote, but this is not a book I would strongly recommend, unless one is interested in the artist's work. ( )