Thumbelina

by Hans Christian Andersen

Overview

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author best known for writing children's storiesincluding "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling." But he didn't just write short stories, and his intended audience wasn't restricted to children. In addition to his fairy tales, Andersen wrote poems, plays, novels, travel books, essays, and more. He hungered for recognition at home (Denmark) and abroad-and he got it! Eventually. Today, his stories can be read in over one hundred languages. But no matter what language they're in, Andersen's tales have got something for everyone. In them, you'll find beauty, tragedy, nature, religion, artfulness, deception, betrayal, love, death, judgment, penance, and-occasionally-a happy ending. They're complex tales, but since Andersen himself was pretty complex, we like to think that art imitates life. Or something like that. Thumbelina is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Traveling Companion" in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. "Thumbelina" is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance- and marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. She successfully avoids their intentions before falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size. Includes vintage illustration!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781727656015
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	09/29/2018
Pages:	46
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author of children's fairy tales, including The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina and The Ugly Duckling, which have become much-loved classics around the world. Elsa Beskow (1874-1953) is the most popular children's author—illustrator in Sweden. Often described as Sweden's Beatrix Potter, Elsa Beskow's picture books have been known and loved for over a century. Her charming stories of children and magical folk, accompanied by her signature illustrations, are known and cherished the world over.

Date of Birth:

April 2, 1805

Date of Death:

August 4, 1875

Place of Birth:

Odense, Denmark

Place of Death:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Read an Excerpt

Once upon a time there was a woman whose only desire was to have a tiny little child. Now she had no idea where she could get one, so she went to an old witch and asked her: "Please, could you tell me where I could get a tiny little child? I would so love to have one."

"That is not so difficult," said the witch. "Here is a grain of barley; it is not the kind that grows in the farmer's fields or that you can feed to the chickens. Plant it in a flowerpot and watch what happens."



Excerpted from Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen. Translation copyright (c) 1974 by Erik Haugaard. Illustrations copyright (c) 1996 by Arlene Graston. Excerpted by permission of Delacorte Press, a division of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Editorial Reviews

'This particular retelling is lovely in its simplicity and accompanied by gorgeous illustrations from Elsa Beskow. Young readers will love the beautiful pictures depicting tiny Thumbelina and the many creatures she encounters. They'll wonder at how she finds herself almost married to so many unappealing creatures, and they'll cheer every time she manages to become free again. This is a great version of a classic tale.'
– San Francisco Book Review

'This is a very pretty illustrated version of the tale.'
– Youth Services Book Review

From the Publisher

2015-07-22
The adventures of a tiny girl amid flora and fauna in an imaginary land are again presented for young readers. The text is acceptably adapted and accessible, but the illustrations, thickly textured and deeply colored, are leaden and rely on fashion rather than magic for their distinctiveness. The illustrator veers back and forth distractingly in her depiction of clothing, from the traditional 19th-century peasant dress with apron and kerchief of the field mouse to the 1920s look of the three female June bugs (cockchafers in some versions) who declare Thumbelina's utter unsuitability as a mate for the big June bug who tries to capture her. The ugly toad who first steals her from her walnut-shell bed for her own son (shown in denim overalls) wears a frumpy pink polka-dot dress of no particular vintage. The haughty mole who wants to marry the girl wears a red fez and a fur-trimmed jacket to portray his wealth. Thumbelina wears simple white dresses, symbolizing her purity, but there is a lack of the magical lightness necessary to the tale. Even the double-page spread of the wedding scene when Thumbelina, with her large, Margaret Keane-like eyes, finally finds a suitable mate of just the right height, seems heavy and contrived. While Andersen's imaginative story, first published in 1835, keeps children listening or reading, this edition adds nothing new or special to a long literary history. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews