The Snow Girl: Q&A with Sophie Anderson

November 8th 2023

About Sophie Anderson Sophie Anderson was born in Swansea, and now lives in the Lake District with her family. Her writing is most often inspired by folk and fairy stories, especially the Slavic tales her Prussian grandmother told her when she was young. Sophie has won the Independent Bookshop Book of the Year Award and the Wales Book of the Year Award, and been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal twice, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award, the British Book Awards’ Children’s Fiction Book of the Year, the Andersen Prize, and the Branford Boase Award. Her books have been translated into over twenty-five languages. DISCOVER sophie's books

Sophie Anderson's latest book The Snow Girl, a reimagining of the traditional Russian fairytale The Snow Maiden, is a lyrical tale of friendship, belonging and bravery. Painting wonderful pictures, it's a book that children of all ages will enjoy snuggling up to read this winter. Read on for insights into Sophie's inspiration for the book, and why she thinks fairy tales are still so important for young readers today. 

What are your Eastern European inspirations?

All my writing is inspired by the Slavic folk and fairy tales my grandmother told me when I was young. These were the first stories I fell in love with, and I still feel a deep personal connection to them today.

My first book, The House with Chicken Legs reimagined the eastern European folk character of Baba Yaga and her unusual home. The Girl Who Speaks Bear reimagined Ivanko the Bear’s Son, a folk tale about a boy who was part-bear. The Castle of Tangled Magic reimagined Ruslan and Ludmila, a fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. The Thief Who Sang Storms reimagined the Russian folk poem Nightingale the Robber. And my latest book, The Snow Girl, is a reimagining of the traditional Russian fairy tale, The Snow Maiden.

What are your local inspirations? I grew up in South Wales, but for the last eighteen years I have lived in The Lake District. Both regions have beautiful landscapes that have undoubtedly inspired me. I love rooting my stories in the natural world, and look to my own surroundings to help me describe my settings in an authentic way. The Snow Girl is set in a quiet valley surrounded by mountains, that is in many ways similar to several valleys in The Lake District. The stone farmhouses, small rural community, and much of the wildlife described in the book were likewise inspired by what I see and experience in my life in The Lake District. Most winters, we have some lovely snow here too – not quite as much as there is in The Snow Girl, but enough to help me write some snowy scenes!

Why are fairy tales still important today?

Folk and fairy tales have been passed down over generations for thousands of years. I find that amazing, and believe it is a great testament to their importance and power. These stories explore big ideas about what it means to be human, and show how we all have shared hopes and fears surrounding life, love and death. I think of the tales as messages from our ancestors, lights to guide us and show us that others have walked similar paths before. Ultimately, these stories can help us feel less alone. I believe it is essential we keep telling these tales and reimagining them for today’s readers, so that their magic and wisdom continues to be passed on.

How can your book be enjoyed by a class or taken home to enjoy with family?

I wrote The Snow Girl hoping it would be a story that families, book clubs, and classes could read aloud and enjoy together. I adore shared story time with my family, but we sometimes struggle to find books we all love equally because we have very different ages and tastes (my children are 4, 7, 14, and 17 years old!).

So, one of the things I tried to do with The Snow Girl was create a story with a wide-ranging appeal. I hope lots of families with children of all ages will enjoy snuggling up to read the book together this winter, and I hope lots of school classes and clubs might enjoy it as a shared wintry read too!

Why is it important for children to learn about stories from other countries? 

There are so many beautiful and wonderful stories around the world, it would be a shame to only read stories from one country! Reading a diverse range of tales will broaden readers’ experiences; provide valuable insights into societies, histories and cultures different from their own; while also showing how there are many similarities in stories across the globe, which of course speaks of our shared human experiences.

Why is it important for children from outside the UK to be able to hear and share the fairy tales from their own countries?

Stories form a powerful part of our cultural heritage and identity. Hearing and reading tales from our homelands and ancestral lands can help us feel connected to our families, as part of a lasting and ongoing legacy. And sharing the tales that are important to us with others can help us forge bonds of understanding and friendship, that link people and communities in positive, meaningful ways. People across the world, throughout human history, have always connected through the magic of storytelling, and I believe it’s vital we continue to do so now, and in the future. I hope The Snow Girl brings readers joy, and perhaps inspires them to seek out more tales from different cultures that celebrate the wonderful diversity in the world, and the ways we are all linked through stories.

The Snow Girl A fairy-tale story of friendship, belonging and bravery, in an adventure through a winter wonderland. When Tasha builds a snow girl with her grandpa, all she wants is for her to be real. If only wishes on snow could come true... Then Tasha meets Alyana, a friend made of wishes, starlight, snowfall and magic. But when your best friend is made of winter, what do you do when spring comes? The Snow Girl is out now. DISCOVER

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