The Ugly Duckling

March 1, 1987
Mayer's version of this story isn't necessarily better for its elaborate plot and long-winded road toward that familiar resolution. This time the duckling and his mother are warned by a Peking duck in the farmyard that they may be in for a surprise. But the duckling, humiliated by the constant teasing and bullying of the other animals, runs away. He sees swans fly overhead and longs to join them; later he is trapped in a frozen lake and rescued by a farmer. But of course, when spring comes, he is a beautiful swan. Mayer has elongated the Andersen tale; in doing so she has made it ponderous. It lacks the lighter touches, both humorous and poignant, found in other versions. Locker's evocative landscapes, in a classical setting, show the fleeting colors of passing seasons.

May 1, 1987
The simplified telling here may be more palatable to younger readers, but it flattens the story, making what was poetic stiff and what was funny too protracted. But San Souci's illustrations rescue the edition, in the colors of a faded, favorite patchwork quiltmuted, with many patterns and quaint touches that contribute to a period setting. Certainly, there was never a more downtrodden, woebegone duckling, who later, unaware of his own new beauty, cannot raise his head in front of the swans; he's afraid that his own ugliness will so offend them that they'll want to kill him. Ages 47.

March 1, 1990
If ever an artist dove straight to the heart of a familiar and much-loved fairy tale, Howell has done so in this atmospheric retelling of the classic tale of the downtrodden ``duckling'' who discovers he's actually a swan. This accomplished artist's light-dappled paintings have a dreamy air, as if a long summer afternoon had somehow been captured between the covers of a book. There is no anthropomorphizing here: Howell is obviously familiar with barnyard animals and his paintings are firmly rooted in the peasant tradition from which many good folktales spring. The colors are of the rich earth as well--the browns and russets of stone farmhouses in the afternoon sun, the muted shades of autumn. Howell's particular gift, however, is his use of light. Some of the images seem almost illuminated from within, as when the cygnet watches a flock of swans cross a Turneresque sky. For its art and language alike, this glorious work is a worthy addition to any folk- and fairy tale bookshelf. Ages 5-9.

Starred review from July 16, 2001
Crossley-Holland (Storm) and So (The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury) bring out all the luster of Andersen's classic tale in this beguiling book. The familiar sequence of events unfolds in a courtly retelling shot through with flashes of humor ("That's a turkey's egg," says a duck elder authoritatively before the "duckling" hatches; "Waddle properly—keep your legs well apart, like I do," the mother duck urges her strange child). Crossley-Holland's prose is as elegant as it is lyrical ("Sunlight settled on the shoulders of the ancient castle"; "A great skein of wild geese started up"; "Clouds sagged with snow and hail"). So's dexterous, impressionistic watercolors soar between blocks of text on the spreads for a highly dynamic presentation. The images are by turn droll, dreamlike and bittersweet, ranging from a dog splashing wildly through the marsh and the busy congress of a barnyard to the supple arch of a bird's neck against a winter sky. The equal of the striking prose, So's graceful brush strokes and expressive use of line issue an irresistible invitation to readers. Ages 5-8.

April 24, 2006
The translation of Andersen's Danish text (copyright page states simply that this is adapted from W. Angeldorff's translation) may be dense and formal, but Italian artist Angaramo's full-bleed spreads are anything but. Novel visual angles, human expressions on the faces of the animals, and plenty of bright greenery and golden sun convey a feeling of optimism at odds with the sober tale. Angaramo's duckling is a tiny grayish fellow with huge feet and cheerful pinprick eyes. The text describes the trials he undergoes because of his odd appearance: "the poor ugly duckling was bitten, pushed, and sneered at both by the ducks and the hens." But though Angaramo's ugly duckling stands alone in the big barnyard (viewed from bird's-eye level, the barn and haystacks appear as high as mountains), the animals who encircle him talking excitedly, with shining eyes; they might be complimenting his nice gray plumage. Even in the worst of the cold ("Just thinking about winter was enough to make one feel frozen, and the poor duckling certainly had a very bad time of it"), Angaramo's duckling lifts his wings happily, a smile on his face. As an introduction to Andersen's traditional tales, this is as benign an entry as parents could hope to find. Ages 4-up.

January 21, 2008
In this faithful retelling, Mitchell embraces Andersen's classic but abridges the melancholy Dane's crueler jabs. As in the original, this opens on a bucolic moat where a patient duck warms her nest “under the burdock leaves” and a stork “chatter in Egyptian” (a puzzling detail to preserve for contemporary readers). After the title ugly duckling emerges, even his mother admits “he's not quite the right shape,” and finally says, “I wish you were far, far away.” Fainthearted readers may pale at the ceaseless hazing and at a scene where two rude geese get shot by hunters (in Andersen, the scene is bloodier). Mitchell omits some nastiness, including suggestions that the duckling is fortunate not to be an ugly female
. The didacticism, however, remains: when the duckling realizes he is a swan, “the misery he had undergone... made him appreciate all the more his happiness now.... But he was not at all conceited, for a good heart never becomes conceited.” Johnson and Fancher (Casey Back at Bat
) provide rural, old-fashioned settings, yet undercut the naturalism with collaged details. Rather than having fuzzy down, the swan-to-be appears covered in pasted-together scraps of lead-and-buttermilk-colored lace; the “royal... magnificent” swans resemble porcelain vases filigreed in pretty blue glaze. This layered effect is pretty but not entirely graceful, and the revelatory ending is muted rather than exhilarating. All the same, it leaves Andersen's spirit intact. Ages 4-8.

May 18, 2009
Isadora’s latest interpretation of a fairy tale remains mostly loyal to the story line, but its sensual, mosaiclike collages create depth and texture, evoking the essence of an African savanna. The “large and clumsy” duckling, black and gray to the other ducklings’ bright yellow, is ostracized by the other animals on the farm. But when a “kind farmer” takes him in, he lives with the farmer’s family over the winter. In the spring, he emerges as a lovely swan with inky, blue plumage. A stirring adaptation. Ages 5–8.

Starred review from March 22, 1999
Pinkney's (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi) supple, exquisitely detailed watercolors provide a handsome foil to his graceful adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic. This "duckling" is teased unmercifully by his apparent siblings but loved by the mother duck: "He may not be quite as handsome as the others," she says, "but... I am sure he will make his way in the world as well as anybody." Eventually he runs away, and as the seasons turn, the fledgling has a series of adventures, from a close encounter with a hunting dog to getting trapped in ice. All the while he is growing, transforming, and in the triumphant ending, he finds peace and happiness when his real identity is revealed to himself and to readers. Pinkney's artwork is a swan song to the beauty of the pastoral, and his lush images flow across the pages in sweeping vistas and meticulous close-ups. Whether depicting the subtle patterns and colors of a duck's feathers, the murky twilight of a freshwater pond or the contrast of red berries against dried grasses etched with snow, Pinkney's keenly observed watercolors honor nature in all its splendor. A flawlessly nuanced performance by a consummate craftsman. Ages 3-up.