2005 is the bicentenary of Hans Christian Andersen's birth. His stories have timeless themes - love, death, coming to terms with all that life offers. This collection of ten stories weaves those essential themes of beauty and cruelty into contemporary takes on life. "The Steadfast Tin Solder" becomes "The Flames of Love", "The Ugly Duckling" is retold as "Swan" and "The Emperor's New Clothes", retold as "The King of Cool", has new relevance as the story of a boy obsessed with branded clothing. All are memorable for the shock value of many of Andersen's most painful images: the shards of a broken mirror; the piercing of a broken heart. "The Swineherd" ("Princess), "The Snow Queen" ("The Shattered Mirror"), "The Wild Swans"("The Wild Swanns"), "The Princess and the Pea" ("Mother Knows Best"), "The Little Match Girl" ("A Little Flame"), "The Ugly Duckling" ("Swan) and "The Little Mermaid" ("Coming Up for Air") are all also recast for the 21st century.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 192 pages in this book. This book was published in 2011 by Hachette Children's Group .

Caroline Castle is the author of several picture book texts as well as two As well as being a widely published author, Kate Petty worked in publishing for many years. She died in 2007.