Hans Christian Andersen's Tale retold by Stephanie True Peters

This book is a great take on Hans Christian Andersen's story: "The Emperor's New Clothes".
Fairy tales tend to be a good read for young children. This book seems suitable for children ages 6-9.

I particularly like the comic book format of reading which could be useful in drawing in reluctant or uninterested readers.

The text per page is short and the pictures are fun to look at. The word complexity is what puts this book out of range for pre-school/kindergarten children. Having said that, there is a glossary of unfamiliar terms located at the end of the story.

One additional feature I found valuable was the discussion questions and writing prompts that were given at the end of the book.

There are many lessons to be had from this classic story.
Talking points such as honesty, deceit, vanity, humility, independent thought, and conformity, could all be explored using this book. ( )

Summary:
The Emperor's New Clothes is a great story about how an Emperor was so into himself and wanted everyone to see how great he was in everything he wore. The Emperor loved to look great in all the finest cloths, shoes, and hats. One day the Emperor goes around in town to find new cloths to make more clothes for himself. He runs into two swindlers, who he thought were weavers, rolling out some beautiful cloth that caught the Emperor's eye. He ask if the two "weavers" could make him a new outfit and the two agreed. But they were going to trick the Emperor into giving them supplies and riches so that they can steal them and make money. They also told the Emperor that they can make a cloth that only great people can see but really they were just tricking the Emperor. The swindler pretended to make this new outfit and finally were finished with the new "pretend" outfit that was really nothing. The Emperor didn't want to be embarrassed for not being able to see the outfit so he pretended he could see it. After the emperor went and show the kingdom his new clothes, everyone thought that he was in his underwear but no one said anything until a little boy spoke up and said that the Emperor wasn't wearing anything. This is when the Emperor knew he had been tricked and learned that he should focus more on his kingdom then worrying about new clothes and looking good. The Emperor became better and was a better leader.

Personal Reaction:
I love this story because it shows how a selfish person can finally realize how dumb he was and become better. It is very true that children speak the truth and are very honest. I love how the Emperor turned out to be a great person at the end and how the swindler just kept going their own way.

Classroom Extension:
I would use this to teach children about honesty and humbleness. Also, maybe have a project where the kids can try to paint their faces like the Emperor's face and make a mustache and hat like the Emperor as well.

This is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. The emperor is tricked into believing that he has purchased a very expensive magical suit of clothes when instead he is wearing nothing at all.

I've always loved this story, and the retelling is very well done. The illustrations are done in watercolor and are quirky and beautiful at the same time.

Students could use this book to discuss why no one felt comfortable telling the emperor that they were unable to see the cloth.

I enjoyed this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. A good way to portray the idea of vanity to children. I might put this on a school reading list for second or third-graders. ( )