cover image The Glass Mountain

The Glass Mountain

Nonny Hogrogian. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, $11.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-394-86724-3

A book designer and prize-winning artist, Hogrogian has created an unusual setting for the beautiful paintings illustrating her smooth, rhythmic text. They are framed by her hand-marbleized papers in singing pastels, each in a pattern harmonizing with the action at each development in the Grimm Brothers' magic tale. In the beginning, a queen impatient with her restless daughter wishes the baby were a raven who would fly away and leave the mother in peace. (The faces of the ladies-in-waiting and the palace cat show their shocked reaction to such unmaternal sentiments, thanks to Hogrogian's great imagination.) The princess instantly changes into a raven and is transported to the peak of a glass mountain. The plot concerns the young man who rescues the spellbound maiden, years later. After conquering the traditional odds, he receives the traditional reward, a radiant princess for his wife. (48)