The Ugly Duckling

Through its text and soft, expansive illustrations, Jerry Pinkney's embellishment of Hans Christian Andersen's tale merited a Caldecott Honor Medal. Double-page spreads depicting the majesty of the natural world are delightful, and Lynn Whitfield brings pleasure to the listening experience. Her relaxed pace provides time to hear the words, view the illustations, and ponder the story. She gives voice to characters with gentle understanding--the questioning duckling, the doubting hen, and the bemused cat. Supporting details, which Weston Woods capably provides, include a lyrical score and field and farmyard sounds. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

March 1, 1987
Mayer's version of this story isn't necessarily better for its elaborate plot and long-winded road toward that familiar resolution. This time the duckling and his mother are warned by a Peking duck in the farmyard that they may be in for a surprise. But the duckling, humiliated by the constant teasing and bullying of the other animals, runs away. He sees swans fly overhead and longs to join them; later he is trapped in a frozen lake and rescued by a farmer. But of course, when spring comes, he is a beautiful swan. Mayer has elongated the Andersen tale; in doing so she has made it ponderous. It lacks the lighter touches, both humorous and poignant, found in other versions. Locker's evocative landscapes, in a classical setting, show the fleeting colors of passing seasons.

Aurora Wetzel presents a grandmotherly reading of Andersen's famous tales. Nothing in the delivery hints at storytelling; no improvisation or peculiarities of style are evident. Rather, the listener has a sense that the text is being read verbatim (although certainly there is room for considerable interpretation when reading fairy tales). There is some vocal characterization, but throughout the voice is unmistakably the kind, friendly voice of the reader. T.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine