East of the Sun

In a castle East of the Sun (a little off center, that is) Ancilla, the power-hungry Ice Witch, is assisted by her reluctant servant Hob, in performing a marriage ceremony uniting the Princess of the Long Nose with the handsome Prince Nordo. He has been kidnaped by Ancilla and is now offered to the Princess in exchange for her see-into-the-future diamond Ancilla so badly wants. But the Princess asks for a little something extra—that Ancilla turn Nordo into a bear during the day to scare off any pretty girls who might be competition for her. Unfortunately for Ancilla and the Princess, Nordo, the part-time bear, escapes, assisted by Hob, and takes the diamond with him. Nordo meets the highly spirited and self-reliant heroine, Snowdrop, who decides to rescue Nordo. With a bit of help from two denizens of the Valley of the Hags and the North Wind, Snowdrop matches her wits against the power of the icy one and the long-nosed Princess in a climax that is at once hilarious, satisfying and quite touching. In this faithful retelling of the old Norwegian folk tale, Glennon has provided us with a high level of dramatic and comic characterizations, weaving wit and humor and an understanding of the relationships into a tapestry of fantasy which adults as well as children will find amazing.