Ugly

by Donna Jo Napoli, Lita Judge (Illustrator)

A retelling of the Ugly Duckling story follows little Ugly as the other ducks of Dove Lake turn against him and he is forced to find his way in the world alone, but thanks to new friendships his search for an identity is made a lot easier.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Novels

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 19, 2005

About the author

Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children's and YA fiction. She loves to garden and bake bread, and even dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist.

At various times her house and yard have been filled with dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. For thirteen years she had a cat named Taxi, and liked to go outside and call, "Taxi!" to make the neighbors wonder. But dear dear Taxi died in 2009.

She has five children, seven grandchildren, and currently lives outside Philadelphia. She received her BA in mathematics in 1970 and her Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures in 1973, both from Harvard University, then did a postdoctoral year in Linguistics at MIT. She has since taught linguistics at Smith College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Georgetown University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Swarthmore College. It was at UM that she earned tenure (in 1981) and became a full professor (in 1984). She has held visiting positions at the University of Queensland (Australia), the University of Geneva (Switzerland), Capital Normal University of Beijing (China), the University of Newcastle (UK), the University of Venice at Ca' Foscari (Italy), and the Siena School for the Liberal Arts (Italy) as well as lectured at the University of Sydney (Australia), Macquarie University (Australia), the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), and the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) and held a fellowship at Trinity College Dublin. In the area of linguistics she has authored, coauthored, edited, or coedited 17 books, ranging from theoretical linguistics to practical matters in language structure and use, including matters of interest to d/Deaf people. She has held grants and fellowships from numerous sources, including the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, the Sloan Foundation.

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful retelling of the tale of the ugly duckling, in an Australian setting.

I just love Donna Jo Napoli's versions of classic fairy tales. She tells them from within the story (if that makes sense), and makes them sound... almost plausible.
And she uses beautiful language.

[Austinhunter]

I really liked this book. I liked how the events in the book all come togethor, like at the begining of the book a mother duck had ducklings that had already hatched but one. It took a while for it to hatch but when it did it was very ugly, but the mother still taught it and showed it around while the other duck famalies made fun of it. The ugly duck got beaten up by the other famalies and its mother sadly said it had to leve the pond and go north or he would be killed by the other famalies. So he did and met lots of other species of animals along the way until he was one year old and met some swans that looked just like him and they told him he was that kind of animal. So he went off with them to the maating season area. It turned out to be where he was raised and he saw his mother again and his siblings. He greeted them and went off to live with the swans, but still being able to see his mother and siblings every mating season.

[Luann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugly is a very sweet version of the Ugly Duckling story. It is also, believe it or not, very realistic, with cameos of some of the typical animals you would find in Tasmania. I think this would make a great read-aloud.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I hold very near and dear to my heart. It truly does not get enough credit. I do not know if this is the original ugly duckling story, but it is developed in such a beautiful way that it seems like a classic. The tiny creature that this story follows is just so incredibly sweet and lovable, that you can't help but reading, because you really want to see a happy ending for it. He does meet some sweet animals along the way (sweet Wombat and the humans), but at the same time it seems like he can't ever truly find a good home to settle down at—a place that seems like it was truly meant for him. Does this precious little bird ever find a place where he belongs? Read to find out! You'll love reading and re-reading this timeless tale!

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugly Duckling story told from the title character's point of view....
However, the animals Ugly encounters are a little varied, including a wombat, a opossum, a wallaby, and a platypus, which makes it interesting.

Just imagine a more 'mature' retelling of the Ugly Duckling story.
The book, like its original fairytale, has themes dealing with physical insecurities, growing up, friendship, paternal support, self-esteem....

[Mel Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adorable retelling of "The Ugly Duckling"!

I've always enjoyed Napoli's work. And this was no different. The story takes the Ugly Duckling on a journey and how he survives, learning things from other animals of the Australian wilderness with him. It's a good day read for adults and just overall a nice book.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Ugly Duckling' set in Australia, but with American slang terms.

[Loretta Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugly
Donna Jo Napoli
Hyperion Paperback for Children, 186 pages
Fiction, Fantasy
Ages 9 – 12

Remember the ugly duckling? Here is the story of everything that happened between the hatchling ugly duck through his transformation into a handsome Australian black swan. As an ugly duckling, or as he is led to believe, Ugly doesn’t quite fit in because of his size and mannerisms. He is eventually asked to leave by his beautiful mother because of the danger that comes with harboring this peculiar interloper. His duck mother advises him to find one good friend and all will be well. After one year, Ugly returns to Dove Lake, in all his beauty and glory.

Ugly is really a beautiful coming of age story. It was heartbreaking when his duck mother rejected him and he was left to fend for himself, really never knowing who he belonged to, or if he was even worthy of love and friendship. As I read this story I was happy to discover that his persistence paid off as he met and befriended many different animals along his journey, including a beautiful female swan that was sure to become his life long partner.

A review from Booklist writes, Napoli takes Andersen's familiar fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling" and embroiders upon it to create a novel-length story. Told from the point of view of Ugly, the little bird who makes a most unpromising duck, the narrative begins as he listens through the shell as another duck berates his mother for trying to hatch a dark, silent egg that is so clearly a dud. and a bit purposeful. Still, the book may interest children who enjoy novels based on fairy tales and remember the ugly duckling fondly. And because of my fondness for fairy tales, it was quite a pleasure to read Ugly and to cheer him through all of his trials and mishaps. A recommended read.

[Meltha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book puzzled me for quite a while. The author has chosen to shift the setting to Tasmania, and her knowledge of how the different animals and people live there certainly is interesting. I'd never heard of a quoll before, for example (and neither has spell check apparently). So on one level, it's an interesting "talking animal" book that includes lots of interesting scientific details. However, at the same time, the book is actually written at a very low reading level through much of it. I eventually cottoned on to the idea that Napoli was having Ugly narrate the story at his own level of observation, and as he grows up, his sentence structure does seem to grow more complicated and his world view less childish. However, the down side of this is the first few chapters are remarkably simplistic to the point where it was rather annoying and felt more like a Dick and Jane book at times. It was an interesting choice, and Napoli does love to play with POV if Zel is anything to go by, but it made me think she was aiming for a very young audience. But then there was the level of sheer horrific violence in this. The ducks don't just hate and bully Ugly; they literally try to murder him via drowning in one of the most disturbing scenes in a children's book I think I've ever read. The only reason he doesn't die is they think they've killed him and go away. Even Andersen didn't take it quite that far. His friends have their brains blown out, the Old Woman is planning to eat him, the Husband's children threaten to bake him or pull his teeth out, and on and on. This is grim enough to be, well, Grimm. She actually one-ups Andersen in the bleakness department, though I grant the happy ending is pleasant. I guess in some ways I'm still puzzled by the book, but it will definitely stay with me for a good long while.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story wasn't strong enough for a full 4 stars, but it wasn't weak enough to really only deserve 3 either. (Really, would a half star be that much trouble?!) Anyway, I thought this was a cute fleshed out tale regarding the ugly duckling. This story told us what happens to the duckling in between the time he leaves his duck family ugly, and when he returns a beautiful swan. I loved meeting all the fun other animals that help Ugly as he tries to survive alone with no real skills. However, there was never much meat to the story. Most of Napoli's other retellings (of the ones that I have read) add a whole new dimention to the familiar tale. Other than telling us what happened in the periods between visits to the duck family, and giving poor Ugly an actual personality and role in the tale, there was nothing much added to this tale. Although this is the first novelized version of The Ugly Duckling that I have come across, there didn't seem to be much too it that would justify or require an entire story out of it. It was a short fast read, and I enjoyed it, but it didn't really strike me as anything extra special, and probably won't stay with me the way some of her other tales have.

[Evette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugly by Donna Jo Napoli. This story is similar to the children's story that is told about the ugly duckling. Ugly duckling is not like the rest of the ducklings in the clutch. He does everything different than the rest of the ducklings. So all the other ducks of the lake turn against him because he is different. So his mom has to protect her family and leave him because everyone is against him. But with the help of some other animals he finds himself who he truly is, not just ugly duckling.The theme of this story is searching for and finding your own identity. That theme is a good theme, but hard for kids to do because they are at such a young age that it is hard for them to do something like this. It was an overall interesting and entertaining read. It even has a few pictures showing the duckling which is a good thing to add so that we get to see what we were imagining.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all of Napoli's fairy-tale retellings, I enjoyed this one the most. She successfully navigated the treacherous waters of teaching about all these fascinating Australian animals while still creating a narrative that a reader, even a young reader, might be motivated to read. Napoli anthropomorphized all the animals just enough. All of their normal, natural instincts were still present through each of Ugly's interactions with the successive animals.
I definitely recommend this book.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Tasmania, this is a re-telling of the Ugly Duckling. Since we are currently studying the habitat of Australia, it made a perfect addition to our studies, especially since Napoli's attempts at didacticism are often thinly-veiled. In short, it was an enjoyable story AND we learned a lot about the habitat of Tasmania.

[Becky Soledad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book number one of 2011, yay! I am always interested in a retelling of a classic. Ugly wasn't so much a retelling but an expansion of a classic. Told from the point of view of Ugly, the duckling, it's all about him trying to survive after he left his mother at Dove Lake. Overall an endearing and heartwarming read.

[Carolynne]

Like many of Napoli's books, this is a novel-length version of a fairy tale, in this case "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen. This version is set in the Tasmanian outback. There is one rather violent scene, which makes it less suitable for the young children who might otherwise enjoy it. Lexile Measure 470.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugly just isn't like the other ducklings in the clutch. His neck is too long. He's stays underwater for "too many" seconds. He keeps climbing onto Mother's back whenever he's afraid. So when all the other ducks of Dove Lake turn against him, Ugly's mother has no choice but to protect her family and leave her darling genius behind. Armed only with his natural curiosity and

[Brielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very cute book that kept me wanting to keep reading. I read it when I was in elementary and I loved it I ended up reading it 4 times. I loved it all and the stories with all the different animals. It was a book with mixed emotions. Most of the time it made me sad and I wanted to cry but some parts made me very happy. It was a very good book.

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Based on The Ugly Duckling. Inadvertently "bought" it. DD lost it last year and had to pay for it. Discovered it behind furniture. So now I've made the most of the $12.97 it cost. I'll encourage my DDs to read it, I think it may help with the older one's self-image problem.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ugly Duckling retold.

[Wynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review here.

[Mdlrc905 · Rating 2 out of 5]

not everyone is ugly from your aspect and dont think you are the prettiest

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter book that follows the fairytale of The Ugly Duckling

[Alice]

This book has been a great sleeper at HH. I loved the book - the old story of the Ugly Duckling. Girls love this book

[Sheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

An overtold story and this one did not offer any new insights.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and more sad and serious than any other version of The Ugly Duckling I've read.

[Jdfarmfmtc.com]

I learned that ducks only care for the rest of the family and not an ugly duckling.

[Rose Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't honestly remember what happens in this book, other than that it's a retelling of the Ugly Duckling, but I was a big fan when I first read it.

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a relly cute re-telling of the classic ugly duckling fairy tale

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this were surprisingly dark!

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it is good in the first 100 pages but then I got sick of it.