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The Little Match Girl (Hardcover)

~ Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Rachel Isadora (Illustrator) "It was late on a bitterly cold New Year's Eve..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)

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Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, May 31, 2008 $11.69 $8.00 $6.39
  Hardcover, September 21, 1987 $12.23 $11.08 $2.23
  Paperback, September 23, 2001 $6.99 $0.01 $0.01
  Audio, Cassette, September 30, 1992 -- -- $20.00
  Ring-bound, July 31, 1988 -- $50.21 --
  Audio, Download Offsite Link $0.39 or less with new Audible membership

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The Little Match Girl + The Gift of the Magi + The Gift of the Magi
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Andersen's tale about a little girl who's afraid to go home because she hasn't sold enough matches is a classic. The little girl, bareheaded and barefoot, curls up in a corner, lighting match after match to warm herself. In the flames she sees visions; in the final one, her grandmother appears and lifts the little girl into heaven. With muted blues, grays and browns, Isadora captures the mood of a snowy Victorian winter reminiscent of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. With these illustrations, coupled with superb book design, the artist has surpassed even the splendid art in her previous books. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4–An internationally renowned Czech artist brings her avant-garde perspective to Andersen's timeless fable. Pacovská's playful art is challenging and experimental, featuring childish scrawls, bright smudges of color along with silver inlays, and whimsically amorphous figures. One illustration depicts the girl's eyes, nose, and cupped hands scribbled across what appears to be a financial balance sheet. One spread consists of squares of color smudges facing a shiny silver page on which readers find their own reflection. The two pages are linked by a multicolored paintbrush/matchstick form. The image of the matchstick recurs throughout in all colors and shapes, singly or in groups, some leaning at angles, some resembling picket fences. Though the art challenges, it is appropriately childlike and whimsical, and opens this classic tale to new interpretations. Thoughtful students of folktale will welcome Pacovská's brilliantly innovative vision.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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It was late on a bitterly cold New Year's Eve. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

31 Reviews
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 (22)
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 (2)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Heart wrenching, but really important, October 30, 2000
By Mark Grindell "Mark Grindell" (Shipley,West Yorkshire) - See all my reviews
  
Everyone need to hear this. Even if you find afterwards you can't breathe for a moment, and you find yourself stumbling in a haze of tears and grief. I don't think that we were ever told that we would be spared such things if they would bring good.

The whole point of this story is to bring the searchlight of compassion and charity into the heart. Too often we tend to think ourselves poor. In Andersons day we would all be considered rich compared with most of those about. And fortunate. We are enlightened enough (at least in Britain) to help people with no jobs and who don't quite know what to do next.

This is quite a stern message and a wake up call to everyone. Perhaps it is the very sternest message which can be given to some people. It is very, very sad, but you have to remember that the girl does reach paradise, as do many every day, and if this is too sad, then, well, there is no answer beyond the consolations of heaven.

The story speaks much about the sanctity of human life on earth, and I suspect that this will become a more pointed message in the Western World as time goes on this century. If death happens in this way, if there is ANY possibility of this happening in your city (there is in the one I am in, but small), we should be listening to Christ:

"I was hungry and you gave me no meat, thirsty and you gave me no drink, naked, and ye clothed me not, sick.. and in prison.. and ye visited me not..."

We .. I .. should be there, aware that once the beggars were once little boys and girls, who have now grown old. SOme have lost their parents, some have lost other things, but they should not be forgotten. This winter it might be very cold.

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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE SADDEST CHRISTMAS STORY I HAVE EVER READ, December 14, 2000
By BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
I first read this story during Christmas week of my 5th Christmas. My mother found it in its entirety in a Christmas magazine and I read it.

An unnamed girl is sent out into the cold by her abusive father to sell matches. He beats her whenever she fails to bring in a satisfactory income for her work.

One night, after a day of no sales, the child, frozen to the bone, lights a match. A glorious vision of a Christmas tree appears. The vision fades away when the match burns out. The second match the girl lights shows a Christmas feast. This feast of illusions dies too, with the match.

The third time she lights a match, her beloved, deceased grandmother appears. The girl runs to her, never to return to the cold again. The next morning she is found frozen to death in the snow.

This story gets to me 100% of the time. To this day it makes me get misty eyed. It is truly the saddest Christmas story I have ever come across.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "The Little Match Girl ", October 8, 2005
"The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christen Andersen was the first book I read as a child that affected me profoundly. I was able to make a personal connection to the text because I too was a young girl who was impoverished at the time. I knew what it felt like to be cold and hungry and I related immediately to the main character.

I came away from reading this book with empathy, sympathy, and knowing the truth: Not everyone has been blessed with having their basic needs met. In addition, I experienced a great joy when her grandmother takes her up to heaven to a better comforting place.

I came away with the concept that death was not something to be feared or a bad thing, but something that might be comforting and
positive. I have always loved this book. Because even as a child who was struggling I too had many things to be thankful for in comparison to what the little match girl had. The underlying message is powerful and real.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of the unbearable
Tales of the unbearable, in one form or another, are as old as mankind itself. Every culture has them, for they serve an important psychosocial and religious purpose... Read more
Published 4 months ago by blue-59

1.0 out of 5 stars Can't believe this is considered a classic... not for children
(SPOILER) I know a lot of people disagree, but I feel this book is totally inappropriate for young children. Read more
Published 5 months ago by ucandoit

1.0 out of 5 stars Why would you inflict this book on a child at Christmas?
The art in this book is truly beautiful and does an excellent job of conveying the sad, joyless life the Little Match Girl has versus the warm, colorful life of those around her... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Laurie Geodakov

5.0 out of 5 stars It Stabbed my Soul
Summary: A poor, barefoot, little girl is sent out on New Year's Eve to sell matches. As the cold and hungry girl awaits a sell, she lights the matches to keep warm. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Elizabeth Linton

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story
I first saw this story as a cartoon on tv. It made me cry a lot. It's a very sad story. However, it has a very powerful messages in terms of love, care, poverty, cruelty and... Read more
Published 19 months ago by M. Fletes

5.0 out of 5 stars I read it as a child, and it has helped me as an adult to understand myself
I want to agree with another reviewer that the meaning of the book for me was to look within for our own rich resources. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Joanne JoJo

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winter Favorite
This is one of my favorite stories to hear at Christmas-time. It really reminds you to be thankful of all that you have. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jessica Mauldin

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good service
Book was sent in great condition and in a timely manner. I would use the service again.
Published on October 24, 2007 by Stacey D. Han

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful keepsake for young and old
Fall in love with this timeless Hans Christian Anderson story all over again. I was originally searching for an old record of this story that included a book from the 1960's... Read more
Published on June 26, 2007 by L. Casella

5.0 out of 5 stars And a little child shall lead us...
This simple little story is an old one that I first heard many years ago. The youngster in this book is saddled with several obstacles. Read more
Published on April 5, 2007 by Kathy D. Zicher

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