The Ugly Duckling (Hardcover)

~ Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Robert Ingpen (Illustrator) "It was lovely out in the country..." (more)
Key Phrases: mother duck, old duck, poultry yard

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5–Bell's able and elegant translation of this classic tale omits nothing: the ugly duckling, rejected by his siblings and mother, runs away. He journeys to the marshes where he meets wild ducks and geese and watches as they are slaughtered by hunters, is told by a cat and hen that he does not possess the right talents, and is later rescued by a farmer from freezing fast in a pond. Eventually, he realizes his true identity and is happy with himself but modest because "a good heart never shows pride." Ingpen's bold impressionistic paintings fill the spreads and render the birds with pleasing angularity. However, the text often seems crowded on the page and is obscured in some instances by the dark, earth-toned palette. This edition suits libraries wishing to have the whole story, but young children will be more readily drawn into and less frightened by versions illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (HarperCollins, 1999) or Lorinda B. Cauley (Harcourt, 1979).–Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. Trying to appeal to a preschool audience, most picture-book versions of "The Ugly Duckling" take out much of the misery and thus lessen the impact of the happy ending, when the "ugly duckling," rejected by the barnyard fowls, is accepted by his fellow swans. In this edition, Bell's graceful translation tells the whole story of the hero's misfortune, rejection, and misery, creating a feeling of darkness true to Andersen's text and making the ending more wonderful in comparison with the suffering that has gone before. Ingpen's beautifully composed paintings, which appear to incorporate elements of collage, are rather dark. Though the placement of text over patterned backgrounds may occasionally make reading hard for children, this is probably a book for adults to read aloud. A handsome edition that respects its source. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Minedition (January 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0698400100
• ISBN-13: 978-0698400108
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #746,193 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By	Blue Tyson "- http://freesf.blogspot.com" - See all my reviews

Gangly kid ends up swanning around.


Or, if you are a parent, and one of your offspring really looks remarkably different to those that bred it, perhaps something is up in the hanky panky stakes, and one of the birds has been messing around outside the nest. That, and be nice to the funny looking weird kid, of course, as a general rule.