As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
48 pp.
| Candlewick |
March, 2007 |
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-2078-3$17.99
(2)
K-3
Retold by Stephen Mitchell.
Illustrated by
Bagram Ibatoulline.
What bitter dreams haunted Andersen when he penned this dark tale? Mitchell's excellent retelling keeps Andersen's quizzical wit and offbeat satire intact. Ibatoulline's expansive spreads, elegantly drawn in pen and ink, resemble etchings; the added watercolor is in delicate yet somber tones. Costumes and architecture suggest northern Europe somewhat before Andersen's own time, a sumptuous setting for this strange, provocative classic.