The Snow Child audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Jack and Mabel build a snow girl on their Alaskan homestead in the 1920s, and the next morning a girl appears in the woods. The author was a Pulitzer finalist, and the book retells an old fairy tale.
Short answer: for The Snow Child audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (65% confidence, leaning). Two single-narrator recordings exist. By our rule, equal productions go to the newer one: Therese Plummer’s 2018 reading, 10 hours 57 minutes. The novel is 448 pages, which favours listening, but no other criterion could be confirmed, so confidence is held at 65%. Debra Monk’s 2012 reading comes first in Audible UK search.
Listen on Audible
A long book favours listening, but too little is confirmed on either side for a stronger call.
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Confidence 65%, which puts it in the leaning band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | Our verdict: Therese Plummer (Little, Brown, 2018) | Also on Audible UK: Debra Monk (Headline Digital, 2012) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Therese Plummer | Debra Monk |
| Length | 10 hours 57 minutes (10h 57m) | 10 hours 49 minutes (10h 49m) |
| At 1.5x | about 7h 18m | about 7h 13m |
| At 2x | about 5h 28m | about 5h 24m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged |
| Audio publisher and year | Little, Brown, 2018 | Headline Digital, 2012 |
| Listener rating | 4.3 from 3 ratings on Audible UK; 4.4 from 2,920 on Audible US | 4.4 from 577 ratings on Audible UK |
| Print length | 448 pages (Headline paperback) | Same edition |
| Price (snapshot) | Not checked | £10.76 on Audible UK |
Both are single-narrator readings, so by our edition rule the newer one is scored: Plummer, 2018. Audible UK lists Monk first and Audible US lists Plummer first. Either way the verdict is the same, because nothing in the score depends on which narrator reads it.
Lengths checked 23 October 2026. Speed times are calculated.
The Snow Child
Eowyn Ivey
- Genre
- Historical fiction; fairy-tale retelling
- First published
- 2012
- Length
- 448 pages (Headline paperback)
- On audio
- 10 hrs 57 mins, Therese Plummer (also Debra Monk, 10 hrs 49 mins)
- Recognition
- Eowyn Ivey was a 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: long book (3), 3 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 65% confidence (leaning). Only 3 points could be confirmed, so confidence is held at 65% until more evidence is found.
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Therese Plummer, Little, Brown, 2018, 10h 57m, unabridged
- Critic review
- None found
- Alternatives
- Debra Monk, 10h 49m (Headline Digital, 2012)
- What you miss
- Faina’s speech set without quotation marks
What this book actually is
The Snow Child is Eowyn Ivey’s first novel, set on a homestead in 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel, childless and struggling, build a girl out of snow one night. The next morning the snow girl is gone, and a real girl, Faina, starts appearing in the woods. It reworks the old Russian fairy tale of the Snow Maiden.
Ivey was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Whether Faina is real is the question the book keeps open, and it is not answered here.
The case for reading it
Ivey sets Faina’s speech without quotation marks, so her words blend into the narrative and she seems part of the wild. That effect only works in print, and a narrator cannot show it. No source says the story depends on it, so it does not count in the score, but it is a real reason to read.
The story moves between Jack’s and Mabel’s viewpoints, which some readers prefer to follow in print.
The case for listening to it
At 448 pages it is a long book, and many people find long books easier to finish as audiobooks. It is 10 hours 57 minutes in Therese Plummer’s reading, about 7 hours 18 minutes at 1.5x. The prose is described as simple and spare, which suits listening.
The audiobook in detail
Therese Plummer’s 2018 recording for Little, Brown runs 10 hours 57 minutes. It is second in Audible UK search with 4.3 stars from 3 ratings, and first on Audible US with 4.4 stars from 2,920 ratings (23 October 2026).
Debra Monk’s 2012 recording for Headline Digital runs 10 hours 49 minutes and is first on Audible UK, with 4.4 stars from 577 ratings and a price of £10.76. Listeners praise both.
Who should ignore this verdict
Lean towards print if you want to see how Ivey sets Faina’s speech, or prefer to follow two viewpoints in print.
Lean towards audio if you are more likely to finish a 448-page book as an audiobook. Either narrator will do.
Audiobook
- Read by Therese Plummer (or Debra Monk)
- 10h 57m, or about 7h 18m at 1.5x
- Unabridged
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
The Snow Queen
One storyteller and an Earphones Award reading, with nothing confirmed pointing to print.
Hamnet
A story that interleaves two timelines, with nothing confirmed pointing to audio.
The Wood at Midwinter
An award-winning reading by the author, with original music, points to audio, but the prose is worth slowing down for.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
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Questions people ask
Who narrates The Snow Child audiobook?
There are two recordings: Therese Plummer (Little, Brown, 2018, 10 hours 57 minutes) and Debra Monk (Headline Digital, 2012, 10 hours 49 minutes). Audible UK lists Monk first.
How long is The Snow Child audiobook?
10 hours 57 minutes in Therese Plummer’s reading, or 10 hours 49 minutes in Debra Monk’s. At 1.5x, Plummer’s is about 7 hours 18 minutes (calculated).
Is The Snow Child a Christmas book?
Not exactly. It is a winter story set in 1920s Alaska and a retelling of the Snow Maiden fairy tale, which makes it a favourite for the season.
Should I read or listen to The Snow Child?
Listen on our checks (65% confidence, leaning). At 448 pages it is a long book, which favours audio, but nothing else could be confirmed, so confidence is capped at 65%. Faina’s speech without quotation marks is the case for print.
How long is the book?
448 pages in the Headline paperback.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: Audible UK and US, the Headline paperback, Kirkus, Shelf Awareness, the Stuck in a Book and Pajiba reviews, and the Pulitzer Prize site.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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