"The Little Match Girl" is a poignant tale by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrating the tragic story of a young girl who sells matches in the cold streets on New Year's Eve. Desperate and shivering, she lights the matches one by one to warm herself, each flame revealing visions of comfort and happiness—a warm stove, a feast, and her late grandmother. As she faces the harsh reality of her life, the matches offer fleeting glimpses of love and warmth, ultimately leading to her heartbreaking fate. The story serves as a haunting commentary on poverty and the loss of innocence. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].
This book is aimed at children at US 1st grade+.
This book has been graded for interest at 5-8 years.
There are 32 pages in this book. This book was published in 2017 by Shadow Mountain .
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his writing down of many timeless, classic fairy tales. He is Denmark's most famous author and his birthday is celebrated every year with a part called "Odin Story Day".
This book contains the following story:
The Little Match Girl
On a cold New Year's Eve, a poor girl tries to sell matches in the street. She is already shivering from cold and early hypothermia. Still she is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. She shelters in a nook and sits down. The girl lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. The girl looks skyward and sees a shooting star; she then remembers her dead grandmother saying that such a falling star means someone is dying and is going to Heaven. As she lights the next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother alive for as long as she can. Running out of matches, the child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the child dead in the nook and feel pity for her.
