Snow White: A Graphic Novel
written and illustrated by
Matt Phelan
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Candlewick
Imprint
Candlewick
ISBN
9780763672331
Awards and Honors
The Kirkus Prize 2016 Nominee, Young Readers
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2016, Middle Grade
New York Public Library 2016 Best Books for Kids, Fairy Tales & Folklore
CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2017, 6–8
BCCB 2016 Blue Ribbons, Folklore
Los Angeles Public Library, Best of 2016: Teen Book
YALSA 2017 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Fiction
ILA Young Adults’ Choices 2017 Reading List*
Children’s Literature Assembly, 2017 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Violence: Mild Violence
This darkly stylized noir is set against the backdrop of Depression-era Manhattan. Full-color illustrations were done in pencil, ink, and watercolor with digital adjustments.
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Violence: Mild Violence
Details
Format
Page Count
216
Trim Size
6 1/4" X 7 3/4"
AR
0: points 0
Lexile
480L
Genre
Fiction
Scholastic Reading Counts
0
JLG Release
Dec 2016
Book Genres
Topics
Graphic novels. Fairy-tale retellings. America in the 1920s. New York City. The Roaring Twenties. Stepmothers.
Standard MARC Records
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Cover Art
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Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books*, Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal*, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Praise & Reviews
School Library Journal
[STARRED REVIEW]
Spanning the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, Phelan’s noir-esque adaption of the classic fairy tale is atmospheric, clever, and touching. Samantha White, affectionately called Snow White by her ailing mother, is sent off to a boarding school as her father, the King of Wall Street, grieves his wife’s death by marrying the dazzling Queen of the Follies. Banished from her home by her stepmother, the young woman returns a decade later after her father’s mysterious death. Not content with the fortune left to her in her husband’s will, the menacing bob-haired villain dispatches Mr. Hunter to kill off Snow, who gets lost in Hooverville, where she encounters the Seven, a group of diverse street kids who take her in. The graphic novel plays with the source material, using the trappings of the time period to add depth and nuance to the narrative. With the dramatics, pacing, and mostly black-and-white palette of a silent film, the lush and stark watercolors showcase the good and evil aspects of the era to tell a timeless tale of love, betrayal, and family. Splashes of red are economically and strategically used to add drama to the presentation, from the drops of blood on Snow’s mother’s handkerchief to the scarlet of the poisonous apple. Themes of class are also explored here, making this a title worth sharing and studying at multiple levels. Especially resonant are the relationships that the heroine builds with her young protectors. The last few colorful pages will tug at heartstrings as Snow, the Seven, and an intrepid Detective Prince get their happy endings. VERDICT A stunning, genre-bending graphic novel for all middle grade and middle school collections.—Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal
Horn Book
Phelan has visited the 1930s Dust Bowl in The Storm in the Barn (rev. 11/09), early-1900s vaudevillian Buster Keaton in Bluffton (rev. 11/13), and late-nineteenth- century explorers in Around the World (rev. 11/11). Here he heads off to glittery, pre–Depression era New York City to re-vision the Grimms’ fairy tale. The book opens in 1928 with a stern-looking man asking a street urchin, “What’s the story here?” as the NYPD cordons off what seems to be the dead body of a woman in a store-window holiday display. The rest of the book leads up to the answer. In a flashback to 1918, we see happy little Samantha White playing with her mother in Central Park. Ten years later, Mama dead of tuberculosis, a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl easily ensnares and marries Samantha’s wealthy older father. After sending the girl away to school and poisoning her husband, Samantha’s stepmother, furious upon learning that the dead man left the bulk of his estate to his daughter, decides that Samantha is next. The girl, now a young woman, flees to a Hooverville shantytown, where she is rescued by seven street boys, and the story takes its classic course. Pencil, ink, and watercolor images (in mostly sepia tones, with occasional spots of color: red for the poisoned apple, for example) move readers’ eyes across each page, providing an appropriately cinematic noir sensibility. This cinematic effect is further enhanced by the feel of constant movement, the varied panel sizes, and a judicious use of text. Some scenes are wordless; for others, Phelan uses varied fonts to enhance the drama. By the final wordless all-color sequence (spoiler: there is a happy ending), it is clear that this is an original and darkly beautiful take on the classic tale. monica edinger
Grades 5-8
Graphic Novels Middle Plus
For Grades 5-8
Book-length narratives presented in comic book style, graphic novels foster both visual and verbal comprehension skills while exposing readers to interesting dialogue and satire, as well as affirming diversity.
JLG's selection of these unique books, some of them only published in softcover, are ideal for attracting reluctant readers and introducing them to literature they might not encounter otherwise. You may find that the 12 books in this category will turn your reluctant readers into eager readers.
14 books per Year
$293.02 per Year
Interests
Diversity,ESL,Fiction,Graphic Novels,Reluctant Readers,Transitional Readers,Funny/Humorous
Grades 5-8
Graphic Novels Middle Plus
14 books per Year
$293.02 per Year
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