the ugly duckling (h.c.a. #8)

it's fun to actually read a hans christian andersen book for this challenge. robert ingpen, the illustrator who won the h. c. a. and the watercolor illustrations in this book were very pretty...almost impressionistic. the text of the story was long...i've only read this story in the very shortened version...but this tale was very developed, apparently very close to the original. the ugly duckling/swan sure was beaten down by the world to the point where he actually seemed like he would rather be dead. "i will fly to those royal birds and they will hack me to death for daring to come near them because i am so ugly, but i dno't mind. i'd rather they killed me than be nipped by the ducks..." yeah, really sad. i didn't try reading this one to my four year old, after checking it over i didn't think she would sit through it though i suppose i could have tried. ah well. there was also a bit of pretty, well, graphic isn't the right word but i am not sure what else to call it so i'll say a graphic scene in which some geese are shot and "their blood tinged the water red." i think kids older than mine might appreciate the story.

tiny's big adventure (h.c.a. #7)

ah, little tiny. this mouse and his big and equally adventerous sister play in a wheat field near their mouse house. they find all sorts of things - a boot, a tractor, a spider, a pheasant, and other field creatures and they all look as big in the illustrations as they would seem to tiny.

interestingly, the author of this book, martin waddell, won the hans christian andersen award but i wasn't super thrilled about the text of this story. it didn't hold my daughter's attention at all. but the illustrations were very cool - vinyl engravings, watercolor washes, and printed wood textures (these things i found out courtesy of the reviewers at booklist) were really different. i won't be checking out this one from the library again though.

crocodile's masterpiece (h.c.a. #4)

crocodile is quite the artist...he paints pictures of all sorts of scenery. but elephant isn't sure which picture he wants to liven up his living room. crocodile promises to paint elephant something extra special...but after a week, crocodile gives him a blank canvas. elephant uses his imagination to create all sorts of different pictures on crocodile's masterpiece. this is a fun story and i like max velthuijs' (hans christian andersen illustrator) simple, bright illustrations.

swan lake (h.c.a #3)

i love lizbeth zwerger's illustrations. her illustrations accompany an adaptation of tchaikovsky's 1877 ballet swan lake are gorgeous. in this book, the left side of the page is text and the right side is an almost full page illustration. the narrative is written in a font that i think is distracting to read. it looks very pretty but not my favorite. i have watched and read several versions of the swan lake story...the queen/princess under a spell that makes her live as a swan during the day and a woman at night and the prince who tries to save her. i've heard both happy and sad endings, but this one leaves the the ending open...the fate of the swan queen and her prince is uncertain.

mrs. armitage, queen of the road (h.c.a. #2)

mrs. armitage is quite the go-getter. when her motorcycle-riding uncle gives her his old car, mrs. armitage (who looks to be in her fifties or so from the illustrations), jumps in with her dog breakspear and immediately begins crashing into things, shedding car parts ("who needs it?" is what she keeps asking her dog) everywhere she goes until she's left with wheels, a motor, the steering well, and seats. in the end she meets up with her uncle and his buddies who outfit her in proper riding style. emma (my four year old) like this story. quentin blake won the hans christian andersen award for illustrations but i am not a huge fan of his style. he illustrated many of the roald dahl books and while the pen and watercolor style is fun, he's not one of my favorites. fun story though, i'd check it out from the library again.

17 kings and 42 elephants (h.c.a. #1)

maragaret mahy, hans christian award author winner, created a fantastic poem which is perfectly complimented by patricia maccarthy's water color illustrations. the rhythmic poem follows 17 kings and 42 elephants as they trek through the jungle on a rainy night. mahy's imagery, coupled with her nonsense words cracked me up and my four year old daughter laughed out loud at crocodiles "rough as rocodiles" and elepahants with "baggy ears like umbrellaphants." it is impossible not to chant this one. i loved it.