ROSE RED AND THE BEAR PRINCE

PLB 0-06-027967-2 In this diminished version of a familiar tale from the Grimms, Andreasen omits Snow White, focusing instead on a braver and more clever Rose Red. Rose Red has no fear when a burly bear comes knocking on her cottage door one winter’s night. She ushers the bear to the fire and brushes his coat free of snow. Rose Red and the bear become friends throughout the winter, but when there is a thaw, the bear tells her that he must go retrieve his treasure, stolen by a wicked dwarf. Wandering the forest one day, Rose Red comes upon that very same dwarf, his beard caught in a tree. She saves the little man but demands a portion of the bear’s treasure. Three times she comes upon the cantankerous dwarf in desperate straits and each time she assists him, eventually regaining the bear’s entire fortune, releasing him from the evil spell that had robbed him of his princehood. Although the heroine is nobody’s fool, she predictably marries royalty; there are no deaths, making this version even more benign. Andreasen’s elegant artwork, done in powdery hues, is nicely detailed, with every illustration framed in shimmering gold. (Picture book. 5-9)