Sisters, Sisters...

There were never such devoted sisters!

My granddaughters are the cutest.

We love singing them the "Sisters Song" from White Christmas - especially in light of the fact that Maria (the youngest of my daughter's four children) was born in December - on Christmas Eve!

My husband recently found a long lost box high up on a shelf in our garage.  It was full of some of our kids' favorite childhood picture books!  I separated them out according to each (now adult) child so they can pass them along to their own kiddos.

When I came to the pile of my daughter's books I smiled as I thought of her little girls enjoying their mommy's old books...because they already love books!

Today I'd like to highlight a story about two sisters, Snow White and Rose Red, heroines of one of Grimm's fairytales. I remember it being a favorite of my childhood fairytales.  Growing up, we had a recorded version with a follow-along Little Golden book.

There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. In front of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose-trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses. She had two children who were like the two rose-trees, and one was called Snow-white, and the other Rose-red... 

I loved Gustav Tenggren's illustrations of the blonde and brunette sisters, as different in their personalities as their red and white rose bushes - and I could never decide which girl I'd rather be. The story also features a bear, and an ungrateful dwarf (who always reminded me of Rumplestiltskin).

This beautiful version, Snow & Rose written and illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin, was gifted to me by my daughter! It's a nice chapter book version for kids 8-12, with beautiful illustrations throughout.

From Publisher's Weekly:

Sisters Snow and Rose once lived a charmed life in a grand house with a beautiful garden. After their father disappears into the woods, the girls and their mother are forced to move into a small cottage in the same forest. There, they befriend a boy named Ivo, discover a mysterious library filled not with books but objects, are tricked by a strange little man, and bond with a protective bear. 

Unfolding over episodic chapters that build to a well-deserved happy ending, this moody fairy tale emphasizes family, friendship, and the powerful bond of sisterhood. Martin’s characterization of the two contrary sisters is especially moving: Rose is the type of person who “holds on to a thing she loved as tightly as she could,” while Snow wants “to see or hear or taste something she loved over and over again, to remind herself that it was real.” 

The sisters’ contradictions make their relationship all the stronger, and Martin’s prim full-color paintings and spot illustrations tenderly highlight key characters and moments. Ages 8–12.

Incidentally, when Maria was born, I gifted her with one of Emily Winfield Martin's picture books, The Wonderful Things You Will Be.

And this past Christmas, we gave her a cute little stuffed doll of the protagonist baby (her doppelganger), who, along with sister Lexi, keeps Maria company day and night.

Oh, how I miss our little Snow (Lexi) and Rose (Maria)!  Such devoted sisters.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS

This bronze statue can be found in the
town of Bremen, Germany.  (The front
hooves of the Donkey have become
shiny - touching them is said to make
wishes come true.)

The Town Musicians of Bremen folktale from the Brothers Grimm seems a fitting tale for the day after Halloween...I recall feeling sorry as a child for the old Donkey, Dog, Cat, and Rooster, who were past their prime and consequently not useful  on their farms anymore.  They decide to become musicians and travel together to the town of Bremen. On the way, they see a lighted cottage; they look inside and spy four robbers enjoying their spoils. Standing on each other's backs, they hatch a plan to perform for the men in hope of gaining food. Their 'music' has an unanticipated effect; the men run for their lives, not knowing what the strange sound is. The animals take possession of the house, eat a good meal, and settle in for the evening. The thieves decide to return, but in the dark and confusion, the robber they send in to investigate becomes convinced the cottage in now inhabited by a horrible witch who scratched him with her long fingers (the Cat), an ogre with a knife (the Dog), a giant who had hit him with his club (the Donkey), and worst of all, the judge who screamed in his voice from the rooftop (the Rooster).  Well, the men flee and the animal musicians never do make it to Bremen, but live happily for the rest of their lives on the abandoned farm.

THE BREMEN-TOWN MUSICIANS, retold by Ruth Belov Gross, pictures by Jack Kent.

You can also find the story in Richard Scarry's ANIMAL NURSERY TALES. Watch the adorable Youtube video of the "Muppet Musicians of Bremen" song that my kids loved, below:

Another story your young musicians might enjoy is BERLIOZ THE BEAR, written and illustrated by Jan Brett (this one involves a mule!)  From the back cover: 

"The performers must get to the ball, (Berlioz leads one and all,) but their wagon and load are stuck in the road, and the mule has decided to stall!" 

It's fun to listen to Rimsky- Korsakov's "FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE" after reading this book.

Click HERE to read my past post, "Music Appreciation for Young Souls". (Titles reviewed include: MOLE MUSIC, by David McPhail; ZIN! ZIN! ZIN! A VIOLIN, by Lloyd Moss; Little Golden Book ANIMAL ORCHESTRA, by Ilo Orleans; and THE JAZZ FLY, by Matthew Gollub)