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m_bell0428's review against another edition
4.0
The Ugly Duckling is about a "duckling" who looked very different from other ducklings. He realizes he is different, and in the end, he realized he is actually a beautiful swan. This book is a great fairytale to teach children about how differences and diversity are great things. I will use this book to teach students how their differences from their classmates make them stronger.
tigershout's review against another edition
5.0
Although this may seem to some as just another fairytale for children, this is one of my favourite tales to read, one which nearly brought me to tears while travelling home after a night out in london at 5 in the morning.
Perhaps, yes, it was due to the lack of sleep and (for once) moderate drinking, but the underlying message in the tale is still relevant today as it is ever.
The story of not fitting in, being ridiculed, those deeming themselves better than others, abuse, vulnerability, a lack of belonging. Yet through it all holding a sense of dignity, of grace, of not judging those that are so quick to judge you.
And through it all, when all sense of help is gone, justice
is served and all that is desired and more is granted, you do not lose your grace and do not forget what you have suffered.
A short tale for anyone, it's certainly something for those
who have started to lose faith or those who have forgotten their morals.
Perhaps, yes, it was due to the lack of sleep and (for once) moderate drinking, but the underlying message in the tale is still relevant today as it is ever.
The story of not fitting in, being ridiculed, those deeming themselves better than others, abuse, vulnerability, a lack of belonging. Yet through it all holding a sense of dignity, of grace, of not judging those that are so quick to judge you.
And through it all, when all sense of help is gone, justice
is served and all that is desired and more is granted, you do not lose your grace and do not forget what you have suffered.
A short tale for anyone, it's certainly something for those
who have started to lose faith or those who have forgotten their morals.
gabmc's review against another edition
5.0
I'm sure I read this as a child or had it read to me and I definitely know the overall story, but reading the full fairy tale was a great experience. The story is so much more detailed than I remember in that the poor baby swan went through a lot of trials with other animals being really awful to him and hunters shooting at him. His mother recognised that he was not like his duckling siblings and was worried that he might have been a turkey, as one of the older ducks had suggested. In the true spirit of motherhood, she exclaims; 'that is not a turkey; how well he uses his legs, and how upright he holds himself! He is my own child, and he is not so very ugly after all if you look at him properly.' This was the last bit of kindness he received though. He was chased out of the farmyard and was on his own, ready to end his life when he came across the majestic swans and saw his own reflection in the pond. It's such a lovely story of self acceptance and perseverance that I really hope it's still being told to children.
shryanayak's review against another edition
3.0
Hans Christian Andersen is probably very well known across the globe because of his work - the ugly duckling. I read it as a child dismissing it soon after as just another fairy tale with a moral at the end, but reading it now after all these years, this story hits differently. I couldn't help but frown at how the mother duck who had been initially defensive of her last hatchling started to shun it soon after everyone else started taunting its appearance, while they praised the beauty of her older ducklings.
That instance seemed to draw parallels to reality where everybody just wants to fit-in with the crowd even if that meant disregarding another's feelings. The duck, no doubt, held some amount of affection towards her youngest but coming to its aid meant opposing the collective security that all the different birds at the moor offered.
The "ugly" duckling of course garners every reader's sympathy, but it is only at the end that we realise, all those taunts about it's physical beauty broke its self-esteem to an irreparable extent. The irony being that now it's the most beautiful swan at the moor, the envy of all other birds, yet it doesn't have it in itself to accept this anymore.
That instance seemed to draw parallels to reality where everybody just wants to fit-in with the crowd even if that meant disregarding another's feelings. The duck, no doubt, held some amount of affection towards her youngest but coming to its aid meant opposing the collective security that all the different birds at the moor offered.
The "ugly" duckling of course garners every reader's sympathy, but it is only at the end that we realise, all those taunts about it's physical beauty broke its self-esteem to an irreparable extent. The irony being that now it's the most beautiful swan at the moor, the envy of all other birds, yet it doesn't have it in itself to accept this anymore.
bored_and_confused's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
villianess's review against another edition
3.0
A beautifully illistrated version of a classic tale.