Reviews

The Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

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rebeccareader's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales have such a beautiful yet eerie quality to them and you can tell why they stand the test of time.

My favourites in this collection are The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Girl, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Emperor’s New Clothes and with great mentions to The Swineherd and The Ugly Duckling.

sofiifreitas's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cshume's review against another edition

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4.0

Absolutely fascinating to read the original fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen. Ariel girl, you had it easy!

varsh31's review against another edition

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5.0

The 5 stars are more for the gorgeous interactive elements in the book. Absolutely stunning.

pawswithabook's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

In this collection of short stories, Hans Christian Andersen vividly creates worlds and characters beyond our imagination. Including The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina and The Emperor’s New Clothes and many other stories, this collection is beautifully illustrated by MinaLima.

Whilst the titles were familiar to me, the stories, even those I thought I knew, were not. Far from the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, the original, alongside a lot of the stories in the collection, is actually pretty depressing.

My favourites were The Ugly Duckling, and Thumbelina…my least favourite was The Tin Soldier.

I can’t fault the storytelling, the writing is stunning, but I must admit I would’ve liked a little more happiness and a little less of the bleakness in stories that are designed for children.