A classic retold

Thumbelina

by Hans Christian Andersen; retold and illustrated by Lauren Mills

     On the book's back flap, Mills declares a bold ambition for this 19th century classic: to update the language and give the heroine a 21st-century makeover.

     The goal was apparently to make Thumbelina less helpless and pluckier, without turning her into a three-inch-tall amazon, of course. And it works. Mills' Thumbelina remains demur and sweet, rendered in watercolor brushstrokes so fine as to be ethereal.

     Thumbelina's a tiny fairy born between tulip petals and raised by a childless widow. But her fate isn't in her own diminutive hands; she's bandied about like a leaf in the wind, and just as frail.

     She's kidnapped or courted by a series of unsuitable suitors; a hideous toad, a fickle beetle, an arrogant, short-sighted mole. Sounds like a few people you might've dated? Mills injects a dash of caricature into the critters, which keeps the story from veering into melodrama.

     Thumbelina eventually escapes, thanks to a swallow she secretly befriended. Mills creates visual cues to the girl's transformation, morphing Thumbelina from a wispy waif to someone more stolid, almost peasant-like, then giving her a final, regal flourish.

     Modern girls, oversold on unrealistic feminine ideals from Bratz to Barbie, shouldn't be put off by a soft-spoken heroine who triumphs through old-fashioned kindness. It's an idea whose time should come again.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

Comments

[Kelly]

Thanks for the review Anne and Dawn. This book looks beautiful. I'm going to look for it. I've always loved "Thumbelina" and have found her to be rather plucky even in older editions (her triumph over the Mole, for example). It's definitely time for a new retelling though and I look forward to reading it.

Kelly