Book Review: Treasures of the Snow

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John is a beautifully written story of forgiveness and redemption that had a profound impact on me as a child.   The story it holds, and powerful Christian message carried with it, has stuck with me through the years, and it was a joy to share this book with my own children.

The story circles through several Christmases in the lives of two children, a boy and a girl.   At first, you see the story through the eyes of the little girl and the boy is portrayed as the "villain"...but then the story shifts and we see things through his eyes.    It continues to switch back and forth between their perspectives throughout the rest of the story. 

And in the background of the unfolding drama is the beautiful Swiss alps, exquisitely captured so that you can feel the crisp air, hear the crunch of the snow, see the wildflowers dotting the hillside, and feel the height of the steep ravines and the chill of a swirling blizzard. 

Something that I didn't remember until I was reading it with my own homeschooling child, was that the little girl is homeschooled for a while towards the beginning of the story, so that she can take care of her little brother.   Even though this only brief part of the story, lasting the span of a single chapter, it was nice to have that little moment of connection when reading it to my son.

And, with its beginning and end set at Christmas time, and it's advent length of 25 chapters, it's the perfect book to read over the holidays.

Revised and Original Versions

Unfortunately, if you want to read St. John's beautiful original prose, you will have to get an older version of the book.  The newest version is an adaption, and while the re-write stays faithful to the original story and I don't think it's badly done, I do prefer the original writing by Patricia St. Johns better, myself.   But the story is wonderful no matter which version you get.

 

Here is a comparison of some lines from the original and latest revised version (there have been several revised versions versions).    That way you can see for yourself, and help you make your own decision which you prefer.  

ORIGINAL:  They had come to a parting of ways.  The crumbly white snow-path lined with sled tracks divided.  A few hundred yards along the right fork stood a group of houses with light shining in their windows and dark barns behind them.  Annette was nearly home.

REVISED VERSION: They had come to where the crumbly white path divided.  A few hundred yards along the right fork stood a group of chalets with lights shining in their windows and dark barns standing behind them.  Annette was nearly home.
 

ORIGINAL: Now, as she stood along among the snow and stars, it seemed a pity to go in just yet and break the spell.  She waited as she reached the steps leading up to the balcony and looked around.

REVISED VERSION: The magic stayed with her, and now, as she stood alone among the snow and stars, it seemed a pity to go in just yet and break the spell.  She hesitated as she reached the steps leading up to the balcony and looked around.

...

I do admit that I like the new version a little better in one part, due actually to a small piece of content that was omitted:

ORIGINAL:  "That's the best way up the Matterhorn," he said eagerly, tracing out the path with his finger;  "that's the way I shall climb it first" --and Annette, swinging her legs beside him, wished she were a boy, too, so that she could climb mountains.

The adaption here is the same, but they leave about the part where Annette wishes she was a boy so she could climb mountains.   It's the one part of this story that made me wince a little for how it was dates, but it's something that I would talk with my kids about, about how times have changed and that was just how things were at that time (not that girls couldn't climb mountains, but that it was thought they couldn't).


Whichever version you prefer, below is a guide to help you find the version you want.

ORIGINAL VERSION COVERS
(Ones I know about at least)

Here are the covers I've been able to confirm are the original version or a version that was edited by the original author (as she edited a little bit over the years)... and thanks to some helpful book-lovers at Reshelving Alexandria and the eBay seller book-mole I was able to get some good pictures of these books too.   There are others that I either don't have a picture of or don't know whether it's the original version.   However, one of the books I have said the first revised edition was published in 1999, and the author, sadly, passed away in 1993, so any published before that should be the original versions or versions that she edited herself.   A second revised version was published in 2007.

I've been able to find some of these older versions at Thriftbooks, Ebay, and on Amazon used.

 

 

 

REVISED VERSION COVERS
(At least the ones I've confirmed are revised)

 

 

Illustrations and Details

Some versions come with illustrations or photos inside.   Here is a comparison of several versions with some photos of some of the illustrations they contain (other versions may also have illustrations, but not all do).  



The Original 1954 Publication
Thanks to book-mole for these pictures

This came with title page illustrations and it seems, illustrations at the start of each chapter.

The "Signature" Movie Version

ISBN = 0-8024-0008-6
Original Text

This version has no drawn illustrations but does have a series of plates in the middle with pictures from the movie.