Born too close to the surface, Borlen is nothing like his mine-dwelling, dark-loving, rock-crunching dwarf parents. Well, the rock-crunching is still applicable, but the deeper into the caverns and mines Borlen goes, the sicker he feels. He craves the light and fresh air of the Surface and thrills at the possibility of seeing things like leaves and flowers and trees. His intolerance of all things darkly dwarf, including his mining crew of six other dwarfs, and his poor attitude earn him the nickname “Grump”. When, by chance, he does make it to the Surface, he is befriended by Queen Elfrieda, known to the audience as the Evil Queen in the story of Snow White. But what does Grump know of humans? He is thrilled by the delicious gems she feeds him and the adoring interest she pays him without seeing her nefarious intent. When she learns that taking a dwarf by the beard binds him to the whim of the taker, she commands him to do as she says. He is able to flee, but not before leaving her the gift of a magic mirror with which she brings about the famous demise of that girl with skin as white as the driven snow. When Grump meets Snow White, she, too, takes him by the beard, unbeknownst to her, and since she has a purer heart, she does it with no malevolent intent; in fact, it leads to her happily ever after, as we knew it would. Shurtliff is a talented writer who challenges her middle grade readers with wonderful vocabulary and who creates endearing characters, even the villainous ones. She deftly spins her fractured fairy tales so that in the end you find yourself asking: is this really the way that it happened? Definitely add to juvenile and middle grade collections and, if you don’t already have them, add her other titles Jack, Rump, and Red too.

Note to publisher: while the covers of Shurtliff’s books are colorful and veer toward adorable, the picture of Grump on the cover is so far off the description in the book as to be off-putting. His beard was mentioned at least a hundred times and the cover is of a petulant, decidedly beardless child.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth