Written by Ashley Franklin | Illustrated by Ebony Glenn
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in the technical aspects of this book. The experts are the book creators. My reviews are my opinions.
The release date of NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE was very timely. Then, there was much controversy of casting Halle Bailey, a beautiful and talented African-American young woman, as Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid movie.
This lovely book teaches children to follow your passion and believe in yourself when others do not. This world will always have naysayers. But it’s up to you to see past hateful and hurtful words and reach for the stars.
Summary: “A young brown girl is eager to play Snow White in a school musical even when her classmates don’t think she’s ‘quite right for the part.’ But that doesn’t stop Tameika from reaching for her fairy-tale ending.”
Tech Notes
Theme: Don’t let others define you. You can be anything you want to be.
Point of View: 3rd person
Tense: Past tense
Internal Journey: Accepting who you are, the way you are.
External Journey: Wanting to land the lead part of Snow White.
Story Arc: Man in the hole
Story Structure: Classic plot. Rule of 3: She faced 3 “problems” she tried to solve but they weren’t traditionally action-oriented. They were her physical characteristics. She couldn’t do anything to solve the third “problem,” her skin color. It may seem that her parents solved her issue but we see while their advice may have helped the main character later on, it was still Tameika who knew what she needed to overcome.
Story Start | End: The problem isn’t clearly stated in the beginning but the author uses the intro to set-up the story. The author book-ended the story using similar language.
Plot type: Wish-fulfillment. The main character wishes to get the part and she does. Her wish came true like a classic Disney princess story.
Pacing: Short sentences quickened the pace, while questions slowed it.
Dialogue: The little dialogue drives the story as it is used to highlight and address the conflict.
Illustration: The illustrator occasionally gave a nod to the original Snow White story, such as using a bitten apple for the school poster and Tameika singing to animals. The illustrator and author briefly included a singing mermaid –perhaps to acknowledge the silly controversy of casting Halle Bailey.
G.P. Bell | Children's Book Author 