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The Wild Swans (Little Golden Book) Kindle Edition

by Hans Christian Andersen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 124 ratings
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From the Golden Book archives comes a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, gloriously illustrated by Gordon Laite in the late 1960s but never published until now!
 
Gordon Laite’s breathtaking artwork for a Little Golden Book edition of the Andersen fairy tale was found recently in the Golden Books archive. Planned for a 1970 release but never published, this Little Golden Book is finally making its debut for today’s fairy tale fans! And it couldn’t be a lovelier retelling of the story of a determined princess whose loyalty saves her brothers from being turned into swans by an evil queen.
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  1. Reading age
    2 - 5 years
  2. Part of series
    Little Golden Book
  3. Print length
    65 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    Preschool - Kindergarten
  6. Lexile measure
    580
  7. Publisher
    Golden Books
  8. Publication date
    July 22, 2014
  9. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
  12. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  13. ISBN-13
    978-0375864308
  14. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Published in 1984, Lewis's stylish retelling of the classic Andersen tale of a sister's devotion marked Barrett's debut as an illustrator. Ages 6-12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. Emblazoned with a gold seal marked "bicentennial edition," a reminder of the 200th anniversary of Andersen's birth on April 2, 2005, this picture book presents his version of the folktale "The Wild Swans." After a king remarries unwisely, his new wife sends his little daughter, Elisa, to live among the peasants and transforms his 11 sons into swans, who fly away. When Elisa turns 15, she begins a quest to find her brothers and learns that she can free them from the wicked queen's spell by making them shirts from stinging nettles while keeping a vow of silence. Weaving its own benevolent spell through Lewis' fluid translation, the tale is a good choice for reading aloud. Gilbert's detailed, colored-pencil illustrations use fine stokes of color to create detailed scenes that many young princess-story fans will find beguiling. A graceful, dramatic version of a classic. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IHMEBS0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Golden Books (July 22, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 22, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 29855 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 65 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0744514630
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 124 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Hans Christian Andersen

    Hans Christian Andersen

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    Hans Christian Andersen (/ˈhɑːnz ˈkrɪstʃən ˈændərsən/; Danish: [hanˀs kʰʁæsd̥jan ˈɑnɐsn̩] ( listen); often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. 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 in Danish or "fairy-tales" in English, 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 Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", and many more.

    His stories have inspired ballets, both animated and live-action films, and plays.

    Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Thora Hallager (1821-1884) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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  2. Susan Jeffers

    Susan Jeffers

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  3. Joy Cowley

    Joy Cowley

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    Cassia Joy Cowley DCNZM OBE (née Summers, born 7 August 1936), best known as Joy Cowley, is a New Zealand author of children's fiction, novels, and short stories.

    Her first novel, Nest in a Fallen Tree (1967), was adapted into the 1971 film The Night Digger by screenwriter Roald Dahl. Following its success in the United States, Cowley wrote several works for adults: her novels Man of Straw (1972), Of Men and Angels (1972), The Mandrake Root (1975), and The Growing Season (1979) typically focused on families dealing with issues such as marital infidelity, mental illness, and death. Cowley has also published several collections of short stories, including Two of a Kind (1984) and Heart Attack and Other Stories (1985). Cowley is known primarily for her children's fiction. Her children's novel The Silent One (1981), was made into a 1985 film; other works include Bow Down Shadrach (1991) and its sequel Gladly, Here I Come (1994).

    She has written 41 picture books, which include The Duck in the Gun (1969), The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch (1982), Salmagundi (1985), and The Cheese Trap (1995). The Duck in the Gun and Salmagundi are explicitly anti-war books.

    Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo Courtesy of Horowhenua Historical Society inc, Levin, New Zealand (File:Joy Cowley.jpg) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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  4. Deborah Hautzig

    Deborah Hautzig

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  5. Naomi Lewis

    Naomi Lewis

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  6. Amy Ehrlich

    Amy Ehrlich

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  7. Papa Oyibo

    Papa Oyibo

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
124 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Madalena Tavares
5.0 out of 5 stars The magic of the Swan-Brothers!
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2022
Verified Purchase
The old tale of the brothers who are changed into swans is retold by Amy Ehrlich, with the beautiful artwork of Susan Jeffers. For those who like classic fairy-tales this book is a little treasure. Children will love it, but not only them: adults (like myself) will buy it for the poetry of the narrative, its symbolism, etc. Basically, it tells about the sacrificial love of a sister for her lost brothers, for whom she feels intense nostalgia - and who also "visit" her in dreams ad thoughts... / There is a happy-end, though. Thank God. /I bought the hardcover. Some of the illustrations are really enchanting - like the one in page 11./ Thanks, Amazon!
5 people found this helpful
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Kort
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming Tale
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2016
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I nostalgicly love Golden Books, but the 5 stars is from my wife. She loves this adaptation and likes Gordon Laite's illustrations. It is a classic fairy tale so there is no need to review the story -- you know it is good. The Golden Book is well constructed, a wonderful plus in this age of cheap production and mass consumption. A perfect addition to your child's library, or your own.

~ Kort
One person found this helpful
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Joan L. Jensen
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful retelling, but a bit dark
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020
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Not for the most sensitive children. Eliza is sent to live in foster care, her stepmother puts a spell on her to turn her face ugly, she is nearly hung as a witch by her husband... But for children who can tolerate, the telling is lyrical and the illustrations are magical. If you have a sensitive child, I would recomend Pricess Sohpie retold by Kim Jacobs.
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M. Martin
4.0 out of 5 stars Not the same
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2023
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This book was my absolute favorite in my elementary school library as well as The Ordinary Princess. The illustration where Elise has to go to the graveyard no longer contains the ghouls trying to snatch her ankles while she’s trying to gather the nettles. A tiny detail, but it added to the drama of what she had to do. Love the illustrations. We also have Thumbelina illustrated by Jeffers and enjoy it.
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Austenfan
5.0 out of 5 stars Condition as good as new
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
Susan Jeffers is one of my favorite illustrators and The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson has been one of my favorite tales since childhood. I've been looking for a copy of this book in good condition (it's out of print) for a few years. This book was in excellent condition and signed by the author. A treasure for a collector of children's books illustrated by exceptional artists.
2 people found this helpful
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5082504252
5.0 out of 5 stars Weird book
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2023
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Very strange book
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KalikaLady
3.0 out of 5 stars The illustrations were very nice.
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017
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Edited from the older version that I have, which was disappointing. The illustrations were very nice.
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Brett A. Hurt
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book In My Little Girls Library
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2009
Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my daughter while at Capezio getting her new dance outfits. I did not know anything about the book, but loved the artwork inside. The first time I read it, I was amazed at what a beautiful and creative story it was. And it did keep my 4 year old's attention. We would look at the art work after reading each page and talked about it. It is my favorite story, a bit long, but whenever she picks it out for me to read at night I can never say no... no matter how late it is. I highly recommend the reading at any age, the artwork alone can ignite the imagination!
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nahuatl
5.0 out of 5 stars Una historia muy triste
Reviewed in Mexico on October 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
Me encantaba esta historia cuando estaba chica, es muy muy triste. Me gustaron las ilustraciones pero puede ser no lo más recomendable para niños pequeños.
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Harish Agarwal
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in India on September 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading this book. The main character of the story was very kind. It was interesting and thrilling at the same time
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Celia B
5.0 out of 5 stars Underated fairy tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2011
Verified Purchase
This is one of Hans Andersen's lesser known fairy tales although it is actually based on Grimm's "The Six Swans". Instead of being rescued by Prince Charming, the princess in this fairy tale does the rescuing herself by completing a difficult task in order to break the spell cast on her eleven brothers.

This review is for the Yvonne Gilbert Barefoot books version and the illustrations here are phenomenal. The story is translated by Naomi Lewis so it is a faithful translation but can be quite long for young children with short attention span so you may want to read it in more than one sitting.

A lovely book that you and your family will cherish.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars 忘れ難い物語が美しい挿絵で
Reviewed in Japan on June 18, 2015
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入手に時間はかかりましたが、きれいですてきな絵本です。プリンセス物語が大好きな孫に読んでやりました。
美しい挿絵にうっとりです。アンデルセン童話の中で、それほど知られているお話ではありませんが、子供の頃
大好きだったお話です。孫にも記憶にとどめてほしいと思い購入しました。満足です。
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A. Sumner
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous illustrations
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
First-rate in every respect, but for those who already know the story, the illustrations were simply beautiful. Delicate and evocative, Yvonne Gilbert's illustrations transformed the tale into something unforgettable
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