Snow White and the Widow Queen

A queen who will not step aside. A girl who is whiter than snow.

Written by Jonathan Pageau. Illustrated by Heather Pollington.

The tale

About the tale

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their stories in 1812, they were not inventing anything. They were writing down tales families had told for generations, tales that passed on a way of seeing the world through images and symbols.

Snow White and the Widow Queen goes back to that way of telling. Jonathan Pageau tells the story plainly, the way it would have been told at home, and Heather Pollington drew the illustrations alongside the text. Small details in the pictures pick up threads from the story, and readers who look closely will find them.

It is a book for children, and for the adults reading it to them, who may find there is more in the story than they remembered.

Illustration from Snow White and the Widow Queen

Fairy tales are meant to delight, and Snow White is one of the most treasured of that tradition. Now we can be doubly delighted by the reimagining of the legend by a masterful storyteller, Jonathan Pageau. Accompanied by the luminous illustrations of a gifted artist, Heather Pollington, the traditional tale has been transformed into a magical synthesis of word and image. Snow White and the Widow Queen presents a thrilling and mysterious take on the classic, mingling the rudiments of fairy with the greatest myths ever told. This retelling of the beloved fairy tale is sure to please readers of all ages, leaving children and adults spellbound.

Robert JacksonExecutive Director, Great Hearts Institute