For years I’ve neglected these tales.  I read some of them, of course, but the classes I took and my independent research has always steered me toward the ‘authentic’ folk tales gathered by the Grimms and their likes.  Well, I’m glad I broke that trend.  This book was lovely!  The version I read was translated by Naomi Lewis and illustrated by the amazingly talented Joel Stewart with this cover:

It includes a nice introduction by Fairy Nice and Fairy Noxious, who curse and bless the infant Andersen with bad reviews and fame, which really do seem to go hand in hand for authors.

Throughout the collection there are notes introducing each story, and discussing the circumstances and life events surrounding the writing of it.  I loved this!  It made for such a lovely way to get to know the author while enjoying his work.  The forward to The Ugly Duckling I particularly enjoyed, and it was interesting to see which ones took longer, and which were quick and painless for him to write.  Always fascinating, don’t you think?

My favorite three (since I’m making myself pick) were The Ugly Duckling, The Goblin and the Grocer’s, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and (yes, I know, this is four!) The Flying Trunk.  Truly lovely stories, every one of them, and perhaps what I enjoyed most were the details I’d missed before.  The barnyard chatter in The Ugly Duckling, for example, with the over-abundance of advice the poor mother duck gets on her soon-to-hatch little one.  And the way the royal officials in The Emperor’s New Clothes pay careful attention when the ‘invisible’ cloth is described to them so they can get the details right themselves.  Classics, I tell you.  But…I guess that’s kind of obvious by now, isn’t it?

Let’s see what Apricot-kitty has to say:

“Now you come for my opinion–now.  When I’ve been reading these stories since I was too small to open my eyes, pulling them out of the storysphere we cats can access.  Meowing to you about the danges of those three dogs with the big round eyes, warning you of the dangers in letting a pea slip under my bed.  But did you listen?  No.  So I won’t say a word now.”

Cats have access to a storysphere, huh?  Does that mean writers were cats in another life?  That would be cool.  But, I know this collection isn’t all of Hans Christian Andersen’s tales.  Which if his stories is your favorite?  Which collection or re-telling do you like best?

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