The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan, by Sandra Nickel/Illustrated by Calvin Nicholls, (Mar. 2026, Levine Querido), $18.99, ISBN: 9781646145768
Ages 4-8
Nickel and Nicholls create a breathtaking picture book biography about master storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Focusing on his lonely childhood and young adulthood, Andersen’s life mirrored many of his fairytales: the ugly duckling who became a swan; the lonely outcast who became celebrated by society. Nickel draws empathy from readers by unfolding Andersen’s story as one would a fairy tale hero’s journey, using some of Andersen’s most famous stories to tell his tale: his inability to dance like a swan; his speaking and acting “like a country duck”; his singing voice becoming “more like a toad’s” when his voice changed. Nicholls’s low-relief sculptures, created with layers of paper, creates movement and texture that presents a feast for the eyes. Every single part of this book is a joy to read. Back matter includes an author’s note, bibliography, and citations. An excellent addition to picture book biographies. Display with some of Andersen’s tales and show readers how to create their own cut-paper masterpieces – start with a simple doll chain or this heart chain.
The True Ugly Duckling has a starred review from Kirkus.
Rumpelstiltskin, by Mac Barnett/Illustrated by Carson Ellis, (Feb. 2026, Orchard Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781338673852
Ages 3-7
Barnett and Ellis go together like peanut butter and jelly, and they’re just as good. Their latest story is a phenomenal retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, the little guy who spins straw into gold for a price. Nothing comes close to Barnett’s joyfully incendiary voice: he describes the young girl’s father as a “poor miller… a nice enough guy, but he had a big mouth. ..,Here, I’ll give you an example”. The father and king play a game of one-upmanship that leads the poor miller’s daughter to the king’s castle, where she has to spin gold out of straw (thanks, Dad) or lose her head. Barnett’s storytelling is pure fun to read, and Ellis’s gouache paintings look like a medieval museum gallery: which is what influenced both author and illustrator. There are also sketches throughout. The historical feel of the artwork pairs beautifully with Barnett’s more updated prose to give readers a book they will return to again and again.
Do not miss this one: it’s got starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus, was an Indie Next Pick, and a Book of Distinction chosen by the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books.
Mom Read It 