SUMMARY
A mother duck gives birth to baby ducklings, but one of the eggs takes longer to hatch. The baby does not look like the other ducklings and everyone calls him ugly and makes fun of him. He runs away, but he cannot find anywhere where he belongs. A farmer saves him from the frozen lake, but the duckling runs away. After surviving winter, he looks at his reflection in the lake and sees that he is a beautiful swan.

REVIEW
The Ugly Ducking is such a classic tale. The story makes you feel such sympathy for the poor creature. My favorite part of the story was at the end When the girl recognized the ugly duckling even though he made the transformation to a swan. She even said that he was the handsomest swan. The message behind this story is so powerful. I love that it teachers children to be yourself and to not let anyone squander your self-esteem. ( )

The Ugly Duckling, illustrated by Thomas Locker.

Originally published in 1843, as part of Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Første Samling. (New Fairy Tales, First Book, First Collection),The Ugly Duckling was an almost immediate success, and has remained one of Hans Christian Andersen's most popular tales. The story of a cygnet who finds himself accidentally part of a family of ducks, experiencing persecution and ridicule as the result of his distinctive appearance, it paints a sympathetic portrait of the travails attached to being different, explaining (at least, in part) its perennial appeal.

Retold by Marianna Mayer, and illustrated by Thomas Locker, this edition of the tale is probably not one I would have sought out, were it not for my current Andersen project. The cover looks very dark and unappealing to me, when compared to the versions illustrated by Jerry Pinkney or Robert Ingpen, so I was surprised to discover that Locker's interior oil paintings were really quite lovely, reminding me a bit of some of the paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. I can't say that Mayer's narrative - mostly true to the original, with a bit of embellishment - was as pleasing, as I found it rather stiff. Still, fans of Locker's artwork will undoubtedly enjoy this adaptation. ( )