Thumbelina

by Hans Christian Andersen, Brad Sneed (Illustrator)

Overview

It's not easy being small, but in Brad Sneed's lovely new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina, at least life is full of adventure. Soon after being born from a fiery red flower, Thumbelina is kidnapped from home and pursued by many suitors, including a horrible toad, a bumbling beetle, and a grumpy mole—until the plucky heroine finds a true love who fits her just right.
Sneed's rich, detailed watercolors are a true standout, illustrating the animals and natural world with remarkable realism and vibrancy. The story, lighthearted and lively, has a simple text that keeps the elegant flavor of the original tale, yet is perfect for a picture book audience.
Brad Sneed's fresh look at a well-loved fairy tale is simply sumptuous!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803728127
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/09/2004
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	297,110
Product dimensions:	8.94(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Hans Christian Andersen (1805—75) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker, who nonetheless was a great reader, made a toy-theatre for his son and taught him to notice every natural wonder as they walked in the woods together on Sundays. His father died when he was eleven, and it wasn’t until six years later that, with the help of a patron, he finally went to a state secondary school attended by much youger children. There he suffered at the hands of a cruel headmaster, but he aquired an education and was determined to be a writer. He published his first novel and his first fairy tales in 1835; thereafter he wrote over 150 more of these stories which have become classics in many languages.

A lonely man who never married, he was also an anxious man; he loved travelling, but would carry a coil of rope with him in case of fire in his hotel. Although he originally addressed his fairy tales to children (and some would maintain he had a streak of childhood in his nature) he insisted they were ‘for all ages’, and the gentleness and humor that are their characteristics are recognized by everyone.

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

Two-time Caldecott Honor artist Pinkney (The Faithful Friend; Duke Ellington) presents a visually snappy adaptation of this Hans Christian Andersen tale. Rendered in colored inks on clay board, the wispy art accentuates the natural setting among pond reeds and flower stalks, and features a sunny palette punctuated by electric hues. This Thumbelina, a black child who springs from a gold and flame-red blossom, spends her days floating on a tulip petal, "rowing on a little lake that was really a bowl of water decorated with flowers." In a rather choppy narrative, the author chronicles the tiny heroine's adventures after she is kidnapped by a toad (who sports a gaily patterned kerchief and has spectacles perched on her nose). Pinkney whimsically depicts the animal friends who in turn help Thumbelina escape from her captors, offer her shelter and whisk her away from the mole fianc she does not love into the arms of the dashing, equally diminutive king of the flower people. Despite some stilted prose (e.g., "Thumbelina was glad to agree"), the imaginative illustrations gives this chestnut a fresh look. Ages 4-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2-This greatly abridged retelling joins many versions in recent years, both single volumes and in collections of Andersen's work. It is told in simplified language and vocabulary, minimizing many of the darker elements of the tale. Unfortunately, it begins rather abruptly and some of the emotional content is lessened. Pinkney uses colored inks on clay board to illustrate the story with vibrant colors, large shapes, and sketch-type outlines. The artwork, while certainly bold and engaging, does not meld well with the delicate and fragile nature of the original story. Still, since it is so visually different from other retellings, comparison among them would be an interesting student activity. The book's format is large and would work well for group sharing.-Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Reviews for Snow White and Rose Red, illustrated by Kelly Vivanco:



"The real stars of this adaptation are Kelly Vivanco's stunningly evocative and atmospheric paintings. The large illustrations add depth and substance to the story...Vivanco's muted, earth-toned palette is, in a way, reminiscent of the classic fairy tale illustrations of the great Arthur Rackham and represents a clear departure from the candy-coloured fairy tale adaptations of publishers such as Disney. This classic colour scheme is paired with Vivanco's wide-eyed and oddly proportioned characters to create a modern and visually arresting illustration style."

~ CM Magazine



"Simply gorgeous."

~ Singing Light

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