One glorious spring morning, a mother duck watches her ducklings hatch. Each one is small and pretty, exactly what a duckling should be - except for one very large and very ugly duckling. The other animals cast him out of the farmyard and the ugly duckling sets off on a lonely, hard journey to find somewhere he will fit in. When he's about to give up, he makes a surprising discovery and realizes that being different isn't such a bad thing after all!
There are 40 pages in this book. This book was published 2008 by Walker Books Ltd .
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". Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) is a world-famous author of classic folk stories and fairy tales, including The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid. Stephen Mitchell is a renowned, award-winning author, translator and anthologist. He lives in Brooklyn, USA. Bagram Ibatouline is the illustrator of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and many other picture books. Born in Russia, he now lives in New Jersey, USA. STEVE JOHNSON and LOU FANCHER have collaborated on over 45 picture books. Their work has received rave reviews and won awards, including My Many Colored Days , I Walk at Night , and New York's Bravest . Visit them online at www. johnsonandfancher. com.
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.
