The Ugly Duckling

by Hans Christian Andersen

Book Overview

Born different, the ugly duckling is mocked by his siblings, rejected by other ducks, and even shunned by his own mother. The sad little bird leaves home, starting a journey where he is jeered at and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068815932X
• ISBN13: 9780688159320
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.6" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

The Ugly Duckling was one of my favorite books as a child!

Children will enjoy learning coping skills including adapting and overcoming harsh ridicule and or treatment by others.

The Kind of Hope We All Need to Remember

A beautiful picture book on the Hans Christian Anderson tale. The Ugly Duckling is one of the world's most passionate childrens' stories of becoming. A wonderful book to read to remind a child what's possible no matter what. It's always a good thing to know one really is a swan ...underneath it all.

The Ugly Duckling

I read the book The Ugly duckling by Jerry Pinkney. The book is about a ugly duckling,everyone is mean to him. One day he got fed up with them so he ran away to a pond but there was a shoot off . So he immediately ran off. After awhile he came across a old ladies house. Her animals were mean to him so he went to a pond.In the winter he froze and a farmer gets him out.He did not like them either so he ran away. In the spring he finds out he is a wonderful swan. I enjoyed the book because I never heard the part when he got frozen. The theme is never be down about the way you look because you might look better when you get older. This book didn't have good word choice and all the words were easy I liked that.The conflict is he is ugly and everyone is mean to him.The illustrations were very full. the character is the ugly duckling. There are many different version. The intended audience is kids who are not beautiful so they don't feel bad about themselves.

Great story, gorgeous illustrations

This version of The Ugly Duckling is a great retelling of the classic story, with an enriched exploration of the Ugly Duckling's feelings and experiences. The illustrations are stunning. My three children, ages 3-5, are enthralled. And because of the nuance and complexity of the story, this will continue to be a family favorite for years to come.

Ms. Elliott's Class Book Review

Our class liked it when the ugly duckling turned into a swan. Everyone learned that it doesn't matter if you don't look like everyone else. You should like who you are. We learned about the differences between swans and ducks. Our class learned that when you are young you have to learn about a lot of different things. We think that kids could learn about different things from reading this story such as animals, other stories to read, and feelings.

Beautiful illustrations and a well-told story: buy this!

Like most parents, you want your child's home library to include standard fairy tales. Jerry Pinkney's "The Ugly Duckling" combines incredibly detailed ilustrations with a nice balance of both strong and muted colors AND a wonderful re-telling of the generations-old standard tale. In this verson, however, people are woven into the story in a way that I haven't seen before, and I like that very much. It's easy to see why this book was selected as a 1999 Caldecott Honor Book. Pinkney's a very gifted illustrator, and he really has to be given credit for his well-constructed text as well as the gorgeous pictures. Authors who write and then illustrate their own stories are somewhat rare, and as an adult, I appreciate the incredible mix of talent and hard work this represents. My children, of course, just love the pictures; they'll grow to appreciate good writing as they get older.