The Ugly Duckling

by Hans Christian Andersen, Cher (Narrator)

Have you ever felt different from those around you? The ugly duckling sure did - all of his brothers and sisters were beautiful, graceful, and strong, but he felt different and awkward. Over time, the he learned to stay calm and to believe in himself despite being teased by others. Eventually, his patience paid off, and he grew to be content with who he was - and bloomed into a handsome swan.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

Audio

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Hans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H.C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories — called eventyr, or "fairy-tales" — express themes that transcend age and nationality.

Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.

Reviews

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very engaging version of the classic tale, with the moral well stated at the end. Pleasantly surprised to find the narration when we sampled the story during an introduction lesson to SoraApp. Bright and heartwarming illustrations.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, slightly altered version of Hans Christian Anderson's story. Cute Pictures.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

CathyR

[Laura Hickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ugly Duckling by Jonathan Langley, is a book that could teach young children about acceptance and not judging others on their appearance. Through our own lives we will feel inadequate but as the ‘ugly duckling’ finds out, there is always a place for everyone where they feel loved and beautiful. The illustrations in this book were brilliant with vibrant colours and quite humorous at times. The images help to capture the descriptive adjectives when describing the ducklings and the difference between the ugly duckling and his brothers and sisters.
One day, the mother duck hatches her eggs, all but one. However, after a day and a night, the final egg hatches. Only to find out that the last duckling is big, grey and scruffy, he looks nothing like his pretty, elegant, yellow brothers and sisters. Although he didn’t look the prettiest, he had his own skills. He was a better swimmer because of his big feet and his mother was proud of him. During the book, we see the duckling meeting other animals who are not kind to him and judge him by his looks and not as a real duckling. He cannot tolerate it any longer, and decides to run away. This will hopefully teach the children, that everyone has feelings and that it is not acceptable to treat people like this. As they say, treat people the way you would like to be treated.
We go on a little adventure with the duckling. He falls asleep and is awoken by humans firing shots and a dog, hunting for ducks. The situation is scary but the illustrations make the situation seem a lot more light-hearted with the dogs facial expression very humours, with his eyes wide open and tongue waging. We see the duckling then in two separate homes, one with an old lady, with a cat and hen. He leaves after the two animals corner him with questions. The other house is a mad house, with a big noisy family. He leaves after making a mess of the family’s home. We see how lonely his journey is without the support of other animals. His emotions are perfectly captured with the illustrations by using dark colours.
However, one day, three swans start talking to him. The duckling is highly confused as he believes no one ever wants to talk to him or be his friend. He looks at himself in the reflection of the water and realises he has grown into a beautiful swan like the swans he is talking to. He finds his mother and tells her about his adventure from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. I couldn’t help but smile, finding out he had become just like the others.
I thought this book was refreshing and very enjoyable. It is a good lesson to teach children that not everyone looks alike but everyone has the same emotions and feelings and that we cannot treat people any different. I would definitely incorporate this book into my lessons. I would read it perhaps at story time to Reception and Year 1 children.

[Menalik Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ugly Duckling by Jonathan Langley

Jonathan Langley’s slight variation of the original tale conveys a powerful message of difference; feelings of individuals; and how we treat these people who vary from the status quo. The misinformed duckling felt isolated and down due to his appearance differing from his peers; little did he know that he was actually a Swan. Suffering from a poor self- perception the supposed ugly duckling decided to run away and encountered many threatening scenarios that were explored in a non-threatening manner by Langley. This coupled with the delightful bright illustrations ensure that young children will find this story interesting and empowering for potential feelings they may encounter throughout their childhood. Once the ugly duckling discovers the fact of his background he is liberated from falling victim to others opinion of him. The ugly duckling could be used in lower ks1 to teach children about difference and can be used as an anti-bullying reference.

[Kiersten Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Ugly Duckling" tells the story of a duckling who does not look like everyone else and does not fit in with their group of ducks. The duckling feels defeated and that there is something wrong with them because they look different. The duckling then meets a group of swans, and grows up to realize that the duckling finally found where they belong. This book can be used in the classroom to discuss how differences in people doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them, and that everyone is worthy and special in their own way.

[Hannah Holthaus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This version of The Ugly Duckling was not quite how I remembered it as a child but it is still very similar (same overall message). In this particular book that I read, there was large font and it was definitely for a child who is moving on to more challenging books. This is always a great book to read and teach to your students. In this version of the story, the ugly duckling wanted swans to kill him, so that is probably not appropriate for younger children.

[Breezi McClenahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another take on a classic children's story about self-acceptance. There was nothing unique about this version of the story but it was good.

Lexile: AD670L
ATOS: 3.2

Six and One Trait: Sentence Fluency

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brightly colored realistic illustrations accompany the text of this familiar story.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another favorite from my favorite fairy tale writer!