The team behind The Faerie's Gift
present a tale that combines elements from East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Black Bull of Norroway and The White Bear King (according to an afterword) into one seamless fairytale. "In the North, where the thickly-needled pine forests are deep and dark and the snow falls bride-white, there once lived three Princesses," the book's incantatory narrative begins. The youngest princess (never named) dreams of a golden crown, which leads to an encounter with a great white bear that carries her off to live with him in lonely splendor. Youngsters familiar with Beauty and the Beast will recognize the turn of events when the heroine uses deceit to catch a glimpse of him and nearly ruins their chance for happiness. The bear (really a prince) must return to the Troll Queen who enchanted him, high atop a glass mountaintop. On her journey "east of the sun and west of the moon" to free him, the princess encounters kind strangers in homes that seem to spring up from barren landscapes. Ceccoli uses tilted perspectives and subtly clashing colors to convey a world in which anything could happen, and sets the stage for the strangers' gifts to make magic (one wonderful spread depicts food tumbling out of an enchanted tablecloth to feed a starving family). Ceccoli makes the snowy north an appealing place to visit. A satisfying confection. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
