The Ladder

by Halfdan Rasmussen, Pierre Pratt (Illustrator), Marilyn Nelson (Translator)

A curious ladder inadvertently becomes a pathway to the clouds in this droll, interactive translation of an enchanting Danish poem.

So first it did a little dance,
then it did a little prance,
then, as nicely as you please,
it waddled off with stiff red knees.

Once there was a jaunty ladder, abandoned by a mysterious carpenter, that sprung to life and decided to take a trip through the countryside. As time passed, the gentle ladder found itself intrigued by a seriesof encounters with people and animals that climbed it to the top and disappeared into the sky, only to return, one by one, in a triumphant parade at the end. This exquisite edition of THE LADDER, the text of which was originally written by renowned Danish poet Halfdan Rasmussen, combines a translation by award-winning author and poet Marilyn Nelson with simple, striking artwork by Pierre Pratt, featuring several foldouts and partial pages in a charming, whimsical design.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy

62 pages, Hardcover

First published June 13, 2006

About the author

Halfdan Rasmussen is the late author of THE LADDER. He is highly respected in his native Denmark for both his children’s verse and his adult-oriented poems on social issues and human rights. Prior to his death in 2002, he granted Marilyn Nelson express permission to produce English versions of his works.

Reviews

[Tim]

A poetry book by one of Denmark's best loved poets. This books has also been translated. This would be a great book to teach upper elementary students or middle school students poetry. What was engaging to me was the flaps that you can lift up. I thought that added a bit of artistic style to the book. Students will really need to use their imagination as one by one people, animals, and things go up the ladder and disappear into the sky.

[Joy Alberti]

A whimsical tale about a tall magical ladder which people and animals climb up and do not climb back down from. Students would be intrigued about what happens to the animals and people after they climb up the ladder. They do eventually return at the end of the story but an explanation for their disappearance is not given. This could be a good writing prompt.

[Greta]

We got this odd story about a ladder because it is by a Danish poet. The translation is a little off in parts (to keep the rhymes) but the story is funny. We were considering giving it to a friend for his birthday but Greta insisted on keeping it!

[Robin]

Translated by Marilyn Nelson, this whimsical (it's the story of a ladder!) poem from "one of Denmark's best-loved poets" is beautifully and innovatively illustrated -- with tall flaps and others that enhance the narrative. Fun.

[Ellen]

This is a very clever book with fold out flaps and beautiful illustrations. The images are interesting to look at the story is easy to follow.

[Kim]

This is a cute story that young children would enjoy and could create their own things that could go up the ladder.

[Mckinley]

A little odd, leaves you wondering sort of simple story.

[Lauren White]

Good for grades k-5
translated from danish

[The Brothers]

A very unique book about a ladder. Apparently, anyone who climbs this self-empowered ladder gets to heaven (or the sky, or the stars, etc.). Some pages are cut so it's really neat to see everyone march back down the ladder at then end.

Excellent illustrations.