The Steadfast Tin Soldier

Starred review from March 25, 2013
Teaming up for another fairy tale retelling, following Hansel and Gretel (2008), Corace and Rylant breathe life into Hans Christian Andersen's story of a one-legged tin soldier who falls in love with a dancing doll. She's as delicate as he is pokerfaced, but he sees that they have one thing in common: "Most amazingly of all, she balanced on one leg!" After a jealous goblin knocks the soldier out the window, he is pushed downstream in a newspaper boat and swallowed by a fish, but he meets his fate "with courage" until he can see the doll again. Rylant preserves the story's character-building insistence on the soldier's decorum throughout his ordeal. At the same time, the sight of him in his dress uniform, bayonet at the ready, lodged upside down in a garden bed or lying patiently in the belly of the huge fish will make readers smile. The slightly oversize format gives Corace scope to paint the period interiors from a toy's-eye view, echoing Rylant's opening observation: "Toys have their own mysterious lives and adventures that we may never know." Ages 4 – 8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

June 1, 2013

Gr 1-3-Text and illustrations weave seamlessly to create an involving, fast-paced update of a much-loved tale. Rylant's retelling is abridged, yet sprightly, and Corace's watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and pen-and-ink illustrations add nuance and whimsy to Andersen's original. When the retelling states that, "Toys have their own mysterious lives and adventures that we may never know...," the artist shows a cozy, toy-filled playroom with an evil goblin glowering mysteriously in the shadows. Readers first meet the steadfast tin soldier, a brave toy with only one leg, and the beautiful little dancer, and see the playroom from their perspectives. When the goblin is introduced, kids see the scene from his shabby home in the matchbox under the stove. The retelling is enlivened by a keen sense of the characters. Despite tragic obstacles, the tin soldier, "managed to be as proud as ever, as all soldiers should in difficult times," while the little dancer, "kept her balance, as all dancers should in difficult times." The distinctive illustrations capture both the story's melodrama and playful appeal, such as when two boys salute the tin soldier as his newspaper boat speeds along the fast-moving gutter stream. This spirited retelling reinvigorates this classic tale.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2013
Grades K-3 In Andersen's classic story, a boy's tin soldier falls in love with a little ballerina figure nearby. One day the soldier falls from the window, possibly pushed by a goblin. Outside, he is put into a paper boat and sent sailing down the gutter and into deeper waters. Swallowed by a large fish, the soldier is freed by the cook in his old household and returned to his former room. Gracefully written, Rylant's simplified version of the story diverges from Andersen's in some details along the way, but primarily by changing the ending to a conventionally happy one. The book's large format gives plenty of scope for Corace's distinctive illustrations, precise ink drawings brightened with watercolor, gouache, and acrylic paints. Sometimes brilliantly colorful and sometimes more subdued, the scenes can be crowded with dozens of toys or other visual elements, but they show up well from a distance. The subtle depictions of the goblin and his shadow are particularly fine. A softened vision of the literary fairy tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)