While fairy tales, adapted from the folklore of many lands, seem always to have been with us, it was actually a young Dane named Hans Christian Andersen, who only a little over one hundred years ago began to create and write the fairy tale as we know it today. Such favorites as The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen are entirely the creation of the man whose own life reads like a fairy tale, and who died in Copenhagen in 1875.
One reason for the popularity of Andersen's stories among children is that he never assumed a condescending attitude toward his readers. He never "wrote down" to them.
In this new edition, in which the selection has been made with the help of wise and understanding authorities on children's literature, the translations by Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Paull have faithfully retained the dramatic qualities and simple style of the stories as they were first written.
Arthur Szyk's brilliant illustrations make this a memorable edition of Andersen's Tales.
Drawn exclusively for the ILLUSTRATED JUNIOR LIBRARY.
—from the dust jacket
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