Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN: 0760706719
This story is about two sisters, Snow White and Rose Red, who live with their widowed mother in a cottage in the woods. When a bear knocks on their door one night, the three let him in because he is freezing. They become friends with the bear and he comes to the cottage each night to play with them. When spring comes, the bear tells the children he must leave until after summer. Then the girls meet a dwarf in the woods. They stumble upon him three times and each time they help him out of a bind and he is ungrateful and rude. When they come across the dwarf a fourth time he is surrounded by treasure. Then the bear appears and kills the dwarf, which causes the bear to turn into a prince. The prince explains that the dwarf had cursed him and stolen his treasures and the dwarf�s death him free. Snow White marries the prince and Rose Red marries his brother and the girls� mother comes to live with them at the castle.
The plot starts off relatively slow for a fairy tale, but picks up about halfway through. The first half of the book focuses on describing the character traits of Snow White and Rose Red and emphasizing how good and kind they both are. This story has the theme that those who are good and kind will be rewarded, while those who are evil will be punished.
My favorite part was the foreshadowing that occurred when the bear is leaving for the summer. Snow White catches a glimpse of gold beneath his fur, which isn�t explained until the end.
