The Steadfast Tin Soldier
In Andersen’s classic story, a boy’s tin soldier falls in love with a little ballerina figure nearby. One day the soldier falls from the window, possibly pushed by a goblin. Outside, he is put into a paper boat and sent sailing down the gutter and into deeper waters. Swallowed by a large fish, the soldier is freed by the cook in his old household and returned to his former room. Gracefully written, Rylant’s simplified version of the story diverges from Andersen’s in some details along the way, but primarily by changing the ending to a conventionally happy one. The book’s large format gives plenty of scope for Corace’s distinctive illustrations, precise ink drawings brightened with watercolor, gouache, and acrylic paints. Sometimes brilliantly colorful and sometimes more subdued, the scenes can be crowded with dozens of toys or other visual elements, but they show up well from a distance. The subtle depictions of the goblin and his shadow are particularly fine. A softened vision of the literary fairy tale. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan