Review of His Fairytale Life

A Book About Hans Christian Andersen

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Neal Porter Books

(Holiday House)

pub. 4.1.2025

32 pages

Ages 4 - 8

Author: Jane Yolen

   Illustrator: Brooke Boynton-Hughes

Character: Hans Christian Andersen

Overview:

" A century and a half have passed since Hans Christan Andersen’s death, but his stories are more alive than ever. Across languages, borders, and disciplines, his timeless creations have left a footprint beyond measuring. Now, come along back to the beginning and meet the human that came before the legend."

"Yolen traces via a single, lilting sentence the life of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), whose original stories are now considered cultural touchstones. (Publishers Weekly)."

Tantalizing taste:

"...he was a boy who became

 a man, a digter – a poet,

who longed for love, but

settled for the friendships

of the high and the mighty,

a man whose stories

were on every tongue

in every tongue,

in places he had never traveled..."

And something more: The Back Matter explains that "Hans Christian Andersen was the son of a poor but literate father, a shoemaker, who read to him and took him to see plays. His illiterate mother, a washerwoman, could not read, but remembered all the folktales she had ever heard...He had so little education that he was frequently laughed at. One of the directors of the Royal Theatre gave him a grant to attend a nearby grammar school... All of the students were much younger than Hans by at least six years... he did well enough to finally go to Copenhagen University."