The little grey duckling looks nothing like the others. His feathers are scruffy and his feet are too big. He is teased and tormented from dawn til dusk, and no one ever asks him to play. What will become of him? And will he ever learn to love himself?
The Ugly Duckling is one of Hans Christian Andersen's best-loved and most well-known fairy tales. With luminous illustrations by picture-book favourite Jonathan Bentley, this fresh retelling of Andersen's timeless classic belongs on every child's bookshelf.
This book is part of a book series called Once Upon a Timeless Tale .
This book has been graded for interest at 2+ years.
There are 24 pages in this book. This book was published 2014 by Little Hare .
Jonathan Bentley has been an Editorial Illustrator at the Courier Mail newspaper for ten years, and has illustrated books for Margaret Wild ('The Little Crooked House'), Margaret Allum ('The Best Kind of Kiss) and Michael Ratnett ('The Jelly Monster').
This book contains the following story:
The Ugly Duckling
A mother duck sits on her eggs. When they hatch she has five pretty ducklings and one ugly grey duckling. How ugly you are, says the mother to her duckling. Wherever they go the message is the same ugly, ugly duckling. The ugly duckling is so upset he runs away and hides. Spring turns to summer and then winter and the ugly duckling stays hidden away from the mean animals. Then spring returns and the ugly duckling emerges from his hiding place to admire a flock of swans on the river. How beautiful you are, he says to them. But so are you, reply the swans and point to the ugly ducklings reflection in the pond. He follows their gaze and realises he is not an ugly duckling any more but has transformed into beautiful swan.
