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Gr 2-4 Hesse uses evocative images and metaphors that parallel Andersen's own writing style to convey some of the formative childhood experiences that appear so poignantly in his fairy tales. Hans Christian was the ugly duckling, and his father was a steadfast soldier in Napoleon's army. When the boy's friendly overtures to a girl in his school were rejected, his grandmother -knew how to melt the frost in his young...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

So strange, even unsavory, was Andersen that one questions whether any biography of him can be truthful and remain suitable children's fare. Hesse negotiates this difficulty with ingenuity: instead of a continuous narrative, she gives us a series of scenes from Andersen's childhood, thereby rendering an impressionistic portrait of the abnormally sensitive, highly creative writer. In nineteen vignettes with titles from Andersen's tales, some as short as sixty words, sh...Log In or Sign Up to Read More