John Patience’s “Once Upon a Storytime” fairytales may not be much in terms of their stories, but where he excels are the illustrations and his retelling of Snow White is no different. Patience takes us into the woods alongside Snow White to meet the Seven Dwarves who save her from perishing, but wait! These woods and dwarves look oddly familiar. Patience uses his unique style (a softer version of Rackham) to depict a woods and wilds that must not be far from the Rainbow’s End that he is most well known for. A careful balance of light and darkness sets the tone for the magical forest and its denizens, where Snow White first sees danger and then finds friendship, perfectly encapsulating the mood of this traditional fairytale which treads a careful balance between danger and safety. Where Patience possibly falls a bit short in this story are his human characters. Snow White is well enough done, playing the part of a lovely but not pretentious young girl, but the wicked Queen is nothing special. If anything, her blonde visage is more reminiscent to me of jealous stepsisters than a powerful enchantress, and her disguise wouldn’t fool anyone. In the end, Snow White is, of course, saved by her Prince, but Patience’s forest looks to us like a far more enchanting place to live than the castle that the Prince whisks her away to! ( )

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