2008-10-07 A hard lesson ....being different

....but all is well that ends well as this 'ugly duckling' finally proves, against all odds.

The famous Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale
retold by Ian Beck, for the ORCHARD BOOK Series.

From the back cover:-

'Once upon a time there was a mother duck who had seven little ducklings.
Six of them were soft and fluffy and yellow, and said "Quack."
The seventh duckling was quite different. He was grey and spiky and had a long neck, and could only say, "Honk."

Simply told for a very young audience, this version of Hans Christian Andersen's famous fairy tale has beautifully warm and atmospheric illustrations and an irresistibly appealing ugly duckling.'

Awww - poor little thing, but appearances are not everything as we find out at the end!

Large format paperback covers open to 28 high quality shiny pages in the popular 2-page spread format.
Beautifully illustrated throughout, in typical Ian Beck fashion, this super book is further enhanced by relevant facial expressions which promote discussion and possible outcome, right from the start.

Clear, easy-to-follow text, in boxes.

Example of text:-

`'The other ducklings called him `ugly'. He tried hard to be liked, but he other ducklings never played with him.
His mother would shake her head. "Quack. Are you sure you are mine?" she said. "Quack, you're a funny sort of duck."...'
One day they all swam over to visit the ducks on the other side of the river. The ugly duckling, as always, followed far behind.
The other big ducks hissed and pecked at him. "Go away," they quacked. "We don't like you; you're not much of a duck."
But "Honk," was all the sad little duckling could say....'

This story has provoked the odd tear or two from the more sensitive listeners at the `Read with Me Corner' at our local library......especially when the poor little soul `has no mother to snuggle up against to keep warm', during the long winter....but it is always smiles of relief at the end, as the ugly duckling is transformed!