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    Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    Ebook101 pages44 minutes

    Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series

    By Hans Christian Andersen

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    About this ebook

    This volume of the Golden Age of Illustration Series contains Hans Christian Andersen's 'Thumbelina', first published in May of 1835. This classic fairy tale has been continuously in print in different editions since its first publication, with many, many, different artists illustrating the story over the years. This edition features a beautiful collection of the best of that art, taken from the likes of Arthur Rackham, W. Heath Robinson, Harry Clarke, Mabel Lucie Attwell, Milo Winter, among others..

    This series of books celebrates the Golden Age of Illustration. During this period, the popularity, abundance and - most importantly - the unprecedented upsurge in the quality of illustrated works marked an astounding change in the way that publishers, artists and the general public came to view this hitherto insufficiently esteemed art form.

    The Golden Age of Illustration Series, has sourced the rare original editions of these books and reproduced the beautiful art work in order to build a unique collection of illustrated fairy tales.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateApr 16, 2013
    ISBN9781473384712
    Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    Author

    Hans Christian Andersen

    Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. He endured a lonely, impoverished childhood consoled by little more than his own imagination. He escaped to a theatre life in Copenhagen aged 14 where the support of a powerful patron enabled him to complete his scant education, and to write. His poetry, novels and travel books became hugely popular. But it was his Fairy Tales, the first children's stories of their kind, published in instalments from 1835 until the time of his death in 1875, that have immortalised him. Translated into more than 100 languages and adapted to every kind of media, they have made Andersen the most important children's writer in history.

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    Reviews for Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      The Ugly Duckling is a very common folktale story that has been told for many years now. It starts off with a little duck who looks a little different from the rest of the pack. None of the other ducks talk with him and made fun of him which made the little duckling feel very sad. The little duck had enough of being made fun of so he ran away which made the little duck feel depressed and alone. The ugly duckling grew up by him self but when he was finally all grown up he realized he was a swan and not a duck at all. He was a beautiful swan and found other swans that excepted him.
    • 5/5
      An "ugly duckling" is hatched and is constantly made fun of because he looks nothing like his siblings. Eventually, he runs away to find a place where he belongs. Through this journey, he discovers his true identity.
    • 4/5
      This book is a wonderful translation of the classic Ugly Duckling tale. The story follows the life of a young "duck" from his birth to the moment of his self-realization. All the other animals throughout this book laugh and make fun of him because he looks ugly and different from everyone else. He goes through many hardships because of his ugliness, but it all pays off when he becomes a beautiful swan. Personal Reflection: The moral of this story is very influential. Children may find it hard to understand at first, but they need to know that no matter what they may look or act like now does not allude to their future. I personally really enjoyed reading this book and looking at the realistic illustrations. They really brought this book to life.Extensions: 1. Have children do "Spot the Difference" puzzles. See who finds the most. Explain that being different isn't a bad thing. 2. Invite a guest speaker who overcame adversity to speak to the children. Examples could be a local buisness owner, senator, principal, anyone who rose to the top from the very bottom.
    • 5/5
      The main moral of this old tale has always been, not to judge a book by the cover. This story has been told over and over. One day a ugly duckling hatches, everyone makes fun of him because he is different. He relocates himself over and over trying to figure out where he is suppose to be. It isn't until the end when he grows up and sees his own reflection that he realizes that he has grown into a beautiful swan. Now everyone envies his looks and he does fit in after all. This book could be read to students for many reasons. It teaches children that what is on the inside is more important than how someone looks. Also, it could be ready when teaching folklore.
    • 4/5
      decent telling of a well-known story
    • 4/5
      This is a sweetly illustrated fairly classic retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale (only without the religious overtones that I think were part of the original telling). Basically Thumbelina is dragged around everywhere and nearly forced to marry a few suitors she doesn't like, but is helped out by a few friends. Finally she lands with the king of the fairies- a suitor she does like, and subsequently marries.
    • 4/5
      Thumbelina is a very small girl born from a tulip. She was so beautiful that everyone wanted to marry her, but they we never her cup of tea. She endured hardships of living and wandering about. She was about to marry a mole that she didn't love and her sparrow friend brought her somewhere he knew she would love. She found a fairy king and fell in love. Very soon, the married, leaving the sparrow sad because he too loved her. The sparrow flew to Denmark and told a man about his story.
    • 4/5
      It was really fun for me to read this book because I never read anything about Thumbelina before. I have however, heard of her countless times. It's always nice when you can put a name to a face.
    • 4/5
      It's a shame the cover art isn't yet available on LibraryThing because the illustrations are the reason to read this book. It is beautifully written in a classic fairy tale style, but I read more from the pictures than I did from the words. The bright colors and flowing lines were enchanting.
    • 2/5
      I did not like this book because of its language and plot, but I did enjoy the main character’s determination. Before I read this tale, I thought back to the times when I listened to this story as a child. I remembered the main idea, which was the ugly duckling turned into a swan and finally found happiness and acceptance in the world. The current version however, was extremely long and drawn out, and included unnecessary details. For instance, in the beginning paragraph it said, “The stork walking about on his long red legs chattered in the Egyptian language which he had learnt from his mother.” I felt that this detail was not necessary because it had nothing to do with the story, and only confused me as a reader. Even though the language is written as though it is telling a story, I still did not find the plot to be well paced and organized. The ugly duckling traveled to different places, and met so many different characters that it was soon hard to keep up with the story line. I did enjoy the duckling’s character because he was determined and always believed in himself. For example, the ugly duckling chose to leave his family on the farm in order to find a place that would be more accepting of him. I feel that this takes a lot of bravery especially from a young duckling; he was not kicked out of his home, but instead chose to leave on his own. I feel that the overall message of this tale is to always believe in yourself, no matter how others perceive you. Once the ugly duckling gained the courage to use his wings to fly, he began to transform into a beautiful swan. I really liked that the swan knew that he deserved to find happiness and that he worked hard for it, “He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him.” Working hard will always pay off in the end.
    • 4/5
      The Ugly Duckling is a great children’s book. It tells about self-confidence, and persistence. The main two reasons why I liked this book was because of the writing style and characters. The writing was very clear and flowed very well, the way this was written kept the reader focused on what was to come next. Also the author used some word to compare what is “beautiful” to what is “ugly.” The characters on the other hand were very realistic. Even though they were portrayed as ducks, people in their every day life go through this feeling of being “unwanted.” This story shows how everyone can feel that way and how to overcome it. The ugly duckling was left out of a lot of things, but at the end of the story the ugly duckling turned out to be a swan which he’s now considered “King of the Swans.” He swam around with confidence now that he felt he was beautiful. The message is to always love yourself, and someone will help you find your confidence.
    • 5/5
      Do not judge a book by its cover, for one day that book may surprise you. This classic, and still endearing story was brought to life through Andersen. The characters were very believable, and easy to form a bond with. From the moment the duckling hatched and was described as terribly big, and ugly, I felt sympathetic. Through the strong language, and vivid imagery, I immediately felt a connection to the ugly duckling. While everyone around him teased him for his appearance, the audience could see that there was more to this duckling. The storyline followed the typical traditional literature pattern, which was easy to follow. The tale even ended with a lesson that “it doesn’t matter if you are born in a duck yard as long as you are hatched from a swan’s egg.” This valuable lesson was accomplished through a simple story, but this story proves time and time again to be effective. The book does push the reader to think about tough issues, and look at social problems deeper than before.
    • 5/5
      Summary:A duckling hatches from his egg only to find out that he looks completely different from his siblings. The duckling is bullied from his siblings and peers so he decides to leave the farm and live with wild geese. Unfortunately, the wild geese are killed off during hunting season. The duckling continues to look for a place to belong but is constantly rejected until he comes across a pond full of swans. As he looks at his reflection in the water, he realizes that he looks just like the other swans. Even some children claim that he is the most beautiful of all the swans. Personal Reaction:This is always a good story to tell children, especially at a young age. It helps explain that just because someone looks different, it’s still not right to judge them or make fun of them. It’s also a good story for those children that are different in that it tells them it’s ok to be yourself and just because someone is picking on you doesn’t mean you won’t be successful later in life. The retelling of this story was also very nice in that it went into more detail about the ducklings feelings. Classroom Extension:1) Have an open discussion about bullying. Explain why it’s wrong, what to do when you see someone being bullied and the different types of bullying. 2) Talk about the differences between ducks and swans.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Black and white watercolors with splashes of yellow in this 1969 version of "The Ugly Duckling" translated by Lillian Moore. Seems to have the complete story. Suffering is purifying.
    • 5/5
      This book is a classic. We all know the story. The Duckling was odd from the very beginning. He grows up and has a variety of adventures only to realize at the end that he is not a duck at all...but a beautiful swan.

      This Golden book really is meant more for the parent to read to the young child. The illustrations are classic and stylish. But the print is small...And with use of words like "Fluttered" and "cackled" by the time the young reader can acknowledge what these words mean in context they wouldn't be interested in reading a story like this one.

      Still, it's a classic. I enjoy it and is why I am keeping it as one of my favorites.

    Book preview

    Thumbelina - The Golden Age of Illustration Series - Hans Christian Andersen

    1.png

    Copyright © 2015 Pook Press

    An imprint of Read Publishing Ltd.

    Home Farm, 44 Evesham Road, Cookhill, Alcester,

    Warwickshire, B49 5LJ

    This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or

    copied in any way without the express permission of

    the publisher in writing.

    British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

    A catalogue record for this book is available from

    the British Library.

    www.pookpress.co.uk

    Contents

    List of Illustrations

    Hans Christian Andersen

    The Golden Age of Illustration

    Thumbelina

    Illustrator Biographies

    Maxwell Armfield

    Gordon Browne

    Harry Clarke

    Rie Cramer

    Jennie Harbour

    Vilhelm Pedersen

    Arthur Rackham

    Charles Robinson

    W. Heath Robinson

    Hans Tegner

    Dugald Stewart Walker

    Milo Winter

    List of Illustrations

    Queen of all the flowers.

    Vilhelm Pedersen

    Thumbelina.

    Rie Cramer

    Thumbelisa.

    Maxwell Armfield

    Thumbelisa.

    Dugald Stewart Walker

    There sat a little tiny girl.

    Edna F. Hart

    Totty found in the tulip.

    E. A. Lemann

    That would be a lovely wife for my son.

    Charles Robinson

    Right in the middle of the flower, on the green stool, sat a little tiny girl,

    most lovely and delicate.

    W. H. Robinson

    This is just the wife for my son, said the toad.

    W. H. Robinson

    Don’t speak so loud, or she will wake up.

    Arthur Rackham

    Totty carried off by the toad.

    E. A. Lemann

    The fishes take pity on Totty.

    E. A. Lemann

    A sweet little white butterfly.

    Jennie Harbour

    She was so happy now, because the toad could not reach her and she was sailing through such lovely scenes.

    Dugald Stewart Walker

    She took her girdle and bound one end of it round the butterfly.

    Harry Clarke

    And the other end of the ribbon she fastened to the leaf.

    Vilhelm Pedersen

    Glided on much faster than before.

    Edna F. Hart

    He flew up with her into a tree.

    Hans Tegner

    The leaf now glided onward faster.

    Gordon Browne

    Oh, how terrified was poor tommelise!

    W. Heath Robinson

    You poor little creature, said the field mouse.

    Gordon Browne

    Come into my warm room and dine with me.

    Milo Winter

    Thumbelina did as the kind old Field Mouse bade her.

    Rie Cramer

    Come into my warm room and dine with me.

    Charles Robinson

    Thou poor little thing, said the field mouse.

    W. Heath Robinson

    In the field mouse’s home.

    E. A. Lemann

    The mole had dug a passage from his house to theirs, and the field-mouse and Thumbeline had permission to take their walks there.

    Hans Tegner

    Brought a leaf of mint.

    Charles Robinson

    He flew out into the sunshine.

    Charles Robinson

    The field-mouse hired four spiders to spin and weave, and the

    mole came every evening on a visit.

    Hans Tegner

    When the wind blew aside the cornstalks, she could see the blue sky.

    Maxwell Armfield

    The mole hired four spiders to weave for her.

    Arthur Rackham

    Nothing must be wanting when you are the wife of a mole.

    Edna Hart

    Totty says good-bye to the sun.

    E. A Lemann

    Fly with me.

    Vilhelm Pedersen

    Yes! I will go with thee! Said Tommelise, and she seated herself on the birds back.

    W. Heath

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