Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre:
Fairy Tale/ Fantasy/ Romance/ Young Adult
Approximate
word count: 15-16,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“Katharina
Gerlach was born in Germany in 1968. She and her three younger
brothers grew up in the middle of a forest in the heart of the
Luneburgian Heather. After romping through the forest with
imagination as her guide, the tomboy learned to read and disappeared
into magical adventures, past times or eerie fairytale woods… For
a while, reality interfered with her writing but after finishing a
degree in forestry and a PhD in Science she returned to her vocation.
She likes to write Fantasy, Science Fiction and Historical Novels for
all age groups.
At
present, she is writing at her next project in a small house near
Hildesheim, Germany, where she lives with her husband, three children
and a dog.”
Learn
more about Katharina Gerlach on her website or follow her on
Facebook.
Description:
“When
Martin helps a pregnant woman to flee from the king’s men, he
doesn’t know that the twins she bears will change his solitary life
forever. What if the Brother's Grimm misunderstood the dwarf in the
original tale of ‘Snow White and Rose Red’?
The
book includes a bonus story and the original fairy tale.”
Appraisal:
Who
doesn’t love retold fairy tales? I love the imaginative way
Katharina Gerlach told this story. With an evil greedy King slowly
destroying his kingdom and his fairy godmother. You don’t remember
a fairy godmother in this tale? Well there’s one in this story and
she plays an important role. Many years ago she gave Martin a magical
beard, and he has used it well to save his hide many times.
When
Martin, our dwarf in this story, sees Adele, quite pregnant with
twins, running from the King’s search party he hides her with his
magic. They have just killed her husband. Here she gives birth to two
girls and she asks the dwarf to name them. He names them after the
two rose bushes he finds the next morning. He pricks one finger of
each baby and imbues the rose bushes with magic to protect the girls
and Adele. He plants the roses outside their cave home to hide the
entrance. He names the girls Rose Red and Snow White.
Martin
can see the King’s son following in his father’s footsteps unless
he can intervene and show him his father’s true character. This is
where Ms. Gerlach spins her version of the girls growing up and
Adele’s late night talks with Martin. It’s enthralling and
magical. Kids will love this retelling as much as adults.
This
book also includes an extra story, Snow
White’s Father, which
is a little more closely related to Disney’s version of Snow
White, but with an
interesting twist. It took me a second or two to wrap my head around
this version because my mind hadn’t made the transition to the new
story. Snow White is only the nickname given to Princess Anna by the
seven dwarves. I had to laugh-out-loud at the last sentence of this
story. :D I was also pleased that the Katharina Gerlach included The
Original: Snow White and Rose Red by the Brothers Grimm at
the end.
FYI:
The
Dwarf and the Twins: Snow White and Rose Red
is Book 1 of the series Treasures
Retold. I think all three
stories in this novelette could be shared with young children.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I
noticed no proofing or formatting issues.
Rating:
***** Five stars
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