(2) K-3 Illustrated by Brooke Boynton-Hughes. Winding through thirty-two pages of enchanting illustrations, one long sentence with a “once upon a time” feel deftly takes readers through the life story of Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). Each word must earn its place to make this construction work: “He was a boy who lived with a mother who could not read, but remembered every fairy tale she’d been told…” The text juxtaposes the in-congruences of Andersen’s life: someone who cannot write as a child but wants to be a poet; later, a beloved author who is personally lonely. The soft watercolor, graphite, and pen-and-ink illustrations capitalize on these contrasts by bringing out details that invoke emotional response -- a lanky teenage Andersen crouching at a child-size desk among very young children while learning to read is comical, heartrending, and hopeful all at once. The illustrations are especially effective when they incorporate Andersen’s own fairy tales, whether through small visual references or more fully realized scenes springing from his work or daydreams. For those just starting to learn about Andersen’s stories and life, the details included are engaging, and the text leaves enough that is open-ended to encourage further exploration. Yolen’s long poetic sentence ultimately ends in tribute: “Hans Christian ­Andersen -- your own story more like a fairy tale than a life.” Back matter includes an extended biographical note and suggested additional reading.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Lauren Child. In July 1888, women and girls working at a match factory in East London went on strike to protest dangerous working conditions and poor pay. Carroll takes the story of this significant event in labor history and uses it as the armature for her own version of Hans Christian Andersen's weeper "The Little Match Girl." Carroll's little match-seller has a name, Bridie, and a strong voice, luring customers with stories and outrageous patter. Her whole family is in the match trade, her mother in the factory, herself on the frigid streets selling, and her small brother at home fashioning match boxes. Like her nameless original, Bridie experiences visions, but unlike her predecessor she turns these visions into social action and survives to tell her tale. The mash-up of history and Andersen-tale works beautifully, especially on the metaphorical level with light, enlightenment, warmth, and energy battling it out against darkness, ignorance, chill, and despair. Child's illustrations, collages in black, gray, and red with a rich use of pattern, incorporate text at certain points to create an arresting, graphically dynamic page. Serve this up with Pinkney's lushly illustrated picture-book edition of the Andersen and with Maguire's Matchless for a feast of Victoriana and an invitation to discuss child poverty, capitalism, and the power of organized labor.`

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Dressed up by his friend the robin in flowers, berries, and ribbons, a restless fir tree nonetheless longs to see new places. When the axe-men come, the fir is happy to go with them to be the town's Christmas tree, even though afterward he's burned for firewood. Inspired by the morose events of Hans Christian ­Andersen's "The Fir Tree," Jameson's retelling benefits from his striking grayscale pencil drawings, digitally colored and enhanced with textural elements such as Celtic knots and ­Victorian scrollwork leaves. The resulting transcendent folk-art visuals of nature in the Russian-inflected setting will invite repeat examination.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) K-3 Translated by David Henry Wilson. Illustrated by Maja Kastelic. On a carriage ride to Copenhagen with her mother, a young girl strikes up a conversation with a kindly older gentleman. They exchange pleasantries; he reveals that he is a writer, particularly of fairy tales. She's interested, so he volunteers to tell her a magical story. It's a tale of a poor youngster who eventually becomes a famous writer. "He sometimes felt as if he'd got himself a kingdom--the kingdom of letters." The tone is gentle, the language often poetic. "It's you, isn't it?" asks the child, and the gentleman--Hans Christian Andersen--confirms her suspicion. Throughout, the illustrations not only pace the story, with panels, half- and full-page art, and double-page spreads, but also indicate shifts in time and content. For example, the carriage ride is depicted in browns, blue, and hints of pink, while sepia-toned sequences recall the events Andersen is retelling. Detailed, multi-hued pastels accompany descriptions of several of Andersen's stories, which he explains as either coming from his own experiences (once small and helpless like "Thumbelina," for example) or the observable foibles of others ("The Emperor's New Clothes"). Many readers will notice visual references to folktales and nursery rhymes within the illustrations of his stories. This biography-based picture book concludes in fantasy as the travelers leave the ground and fly to Copenhagen, just like the boy in "The Flying Trunk." Appended with an author's note.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) PS Pinkney brings readers Black mermaids and a richly imagined undersea world in this addition to his picture-book takes on classic tales (most recently The Three Billy Goats Gruff, 2017). Most of Hans Christian Andersen's original elements remain--a Sea King in a merfolk kingdom; the titular mermaid princess with a "majestic" voice, who longs to walk on land; and a sinister Sea Witch, looking for revenge. Pinkney's most significant change is that he replaces the romance in the original tale with a friendship. Melody, the little mermaid of the story, visits the Sea Witch to swap her voice for legs so that she can spend time with Zion, her new friend on land, who tells her she shouldn't have given up her voice "for anything." When Melody learns that the Sea Witch is endangering her family, she swims back and saves them. Pinkney gives the protagonist more autonomy and less punishment than in the original; in a closing author's note he explains such choices. Pinkney's lush, iridescent illustrations are breathtaking. His beautifully colored, primarily blue undersea world is juxtaposed with the earth-toned, sand-covered world above and its "fiery ball" in the sky. The Sea Witch--who has fingered tentacles, horns, and sharp, terrifying teeth--is particularly menacing and is always surrounded by ghoulish sea-creature sidekicks. A spirited and elegant revisioning.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(2) K-3 From a story by Hans Christian Andersen. A little fir tree envies his full-grown forest neighbors, who become cabins and ships. Being a Christmas tree seems perfect--until Christmas ends and the tree is moved to a shed. Though the original ends unhappily, this appreciate-what-you-have tale, accompanied by bold, naive-style paintings, ultimately gives the tree the chance to do so with a return to nature before the cycle begins again.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Roberts. The humorously detailed watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations almost upstage this engaging reimagining of Andersen's tale, inspired by the author's reading of the story as a book-starved child during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. A young emperor concocts a plan involving ridiculous rice-sack clothing to fool his vain, greedy ministers and reclaim some of their ill-gotten gains for his people. Appended with an author's note and craft instructions.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Dino Duckling (who's really a dinosaur) has always felt different from his family, but Mama Duck--speaking in rhyme throughout--encourages her ducklings to "celebrate their differences." He struggles with this when he can't fly south with them for the winter. This therapeutic reimagining of "The Ugly Duckling" stands out for its preschooler-friendly screenprinted illustrations that reflect the unconditional love of this unusual family.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) YA When Jack is spirited away to a dark street in another time, he's convinced that his insulin must not be working properly. But he keeps returning, and a shadowy street waif becomes determined to keep Jack there forever; meanwhile, classmate Lucy is also having visions of the same girl. Supernatural melds intriguingly with fairy tale in this twist on Andersen's "The Little Match Girl."

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. This rhymed retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale incorporates a plethora of Spanish words and phrases; the illustrations--created with acrylics, colored pencils, and graphite on handmade paper--set the story in Peru, with clothing and other textiles inspired by those of several different Indigenous Peruvian communities. Both text and art emit much energy and humor. Glos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 Far Out Fables series. Illustrated by Otis Frampton. Each brief, accessible paneled comic retells a fable with a sci-fi twist: a bored boy in Transylvania pranks villagers about a vampire attacking (until it does), a time portal drops a T. rex egg at a modern farmhouse, etc. The unremarkable revamps are improved by thorough back matter, which notes changes to source materials and poses "visual questions" to help navigate graphic narratives. Glos. Review covers these Far Out Fables titles: The Boy Who Cried Vampire, The Lion and the Mouse and the Invaders from Zurg, The Robo-Battle of Mega Tortoise vs. Hazard Hare, and The Ugly Dino Hatchling.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) YA If sixteen-year-old Liddi speaks one word, the device implanted on her vocal cords will instantly kill her eight brothers, trapped in the conduits between worlds. Can she solve an interplanetary puzzle to save them? Though the technological dilemmas are sometimes baffling, this intricate sci-fi retelling of Andersen's "The Wild Swans" pleases through a low-key but satisfying romance and Lewis's attention to Liddi's development.

Reviewer: Amy Bennett-Zendzian

(4) K-3 Fairy Tales Today series. Illustrated by Erica Jane Waters. In this recasting of Andersen's tale, dance class bully Emma always gets her way until a new student promises her a magnificent tutu visible only to "amazing dancers." Of course, no one wants to admit they can't see the tutu. While true to the story's origins, Emma doesn't get to redeem herself, which is unfortunate in this context. Friendly illustrations play out the drama.

Reviewer: Morgan Stewart

(3) 4-6 Whatever After series. Abby and Jonah travel through their magic mirror to the story "The Snow Queen" (which may be unfamiliar to readers, though they learn it was an inspiration for the film Frozen). They befriend a reindeer, escape from robbers, and confront the misunderstood Snow Queen. This sixth fractured fairy tale will keep readers chuckling as it delivers a subtle lesson about friendship.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Nasrin Khosravi. Krishnaswami uses the illustrations from a 1999 Farsi edition of "Thumbelina" as her primary source material, and it's easy to see how she was inspired: Khosravi's acrylic and tissue paintings brim with allusive imagery in a luminous palette crowned with the luscious cherry red of tiny Lina's gown. The text suits the pictures, though the most lyrical passages are sometimes more musical than meaningful.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013

(4) YA Pearce sets Andersen's "The Snow Queen" in her contemporary world of werewolves (Sisters Red; Sweetly; Fathomless). When Ginny's love Kai disappears with the mysterious Mora, Ginny chases after him, encountering a werewolf hunter, a beauty queen, gypsies, and more. The intricate plot can be hard to follow, and Ginny is a rather weak heroine. Still, devotees of Pearce's fairy-tale retellings will be satisfied.

Reviewer: Janet Daniels

(3) K-3 Sabuda graces Andersen's dark tale with enormous, elaborate pop-up illustrations. Each of five double-page spreads contains one large construction; sidebars open to additional pop-ups. The paper engineering is more remarkable for its intricacy and atmosphere-building than its role in the storytelling. Children familiar with Disney's version may be surprised at the tragedy in this adaptation, which stays close to Andersen's original.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Readers' Theater: How to Put on a Production series. Illustrated by Nina Mata . This series offers instructions for mounting readers' theater or stage productions of four plays based on familiar tales (e.g., "Chicken Little," "Sleeping Beauty"). Each book introduces cast and crew, sets and props, makeup and costumes, and stage directions; rather stilted script adaptations with dialogue that's easy to read and speak conclude the presentations. Ideal for classroom use. Review covers these Readers' Theater: How to Put on a Production titles: Farmyard Security, Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow, Pricked Pinkies, and The Princedom of Pea.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(2) 4-6 In this A Tale Dark & Grimm companion, Princess Jill joins up with cousin Jack and a frog; they set off on a life-or-death quest to find the "seeing glass," encountering goblins, mermaids, and a monster. A closing note explains sources (Grimm, Andersen, Mother Goose, Christina Rossetti, and the New Testament). This book is gory, hilarious, touching, and lyrical all at once.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(4) 4-6 When Princess Meriel's new stepmother turns her five brothers into swans, Meriel must save them by making each a shirt from stinging nettles--but she mustn't speak before her task is done. The novel departs from Andersen's "The Wild Swans" in ways that diminish the narrative tension, but fairy-tale fans will enjoy the atmosphere and the spunky heroine.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam