Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina (Hardcover)

~ Lauren Mills (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5–This is a charmingly illustrated Thumbelina, retold with just a few changes in detail and some omissions of lengthy description that make the story more readable. Obtained by an old widow from a tulip grown from a magic seed, the tiny child is soon taken by a toad, then by a beetle, both of them fancying her for her beauty. Welcomed into a kind field mouse's home in winter and presented to a bachelor mole as a possible bride, the sweet child has the common sense to listen to others and the strength of character to do what her own mind and senses tell her is right. Thumbelina's decision to nurse an injured swallow provides her with the opportunity to find her own true place in the world. In Mills's soft, detailed watercolor illustrations, the tiny red-haired girl appears fairylike in her filmy nightgown, then wears homespun jumpers and braids in the mouse's cozy burrow. Even libraries that own Lisbeth Zwerger's lovely version of the story (Morrow, 1980), which is closely translated from the original Danish, will want Mills's book as well.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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Review

Mills shortens Andersen's tale of a miniature child snatched by one prospective suitor after another, and tweaks it to give the protagonist an independent streak: "Yes, I will go now and find my own happiness!" she exclaims, climbing onto the swallow's back to escape marriage to the boring Mole. Illustrated with soft watercolor scenes of a tiny redhead, posed with a dancer's grace and clad in a succession of beautifully draped shifts, this makes a good replacement for lusher earlier versions, such as Marianna Mayer's (1986)-though Brad Sneed's adaptation (2004) is more faithful to the now disturbing original. (Picture book. 7-9) (Kirkus Reviews)

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; 1st edition (April 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316573590
• ISBN-13: 978-0316573597
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #651,521 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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