Another children's book that is worth reading as an adult. But, get this version, or another accurate translation from the Danish. There are too many eviscerated kiddie adaptations out there that are an insult to the taste and discernment of the kiddies, let alone their elders. You want his sharp humor, vivid imagery, and unforgiving sense of loss as close to the original as possible.

For example, the Ugly Duckling is not a cute story, most of us have been through it, and if you read the original, you will actually feel the truth of it, rather than sighing at the cliche of it. ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/892238.html

thought this was a tremendously good presentation of the great HCA stories; some of them of course I knew from the various versions of my childhood, but all of them (Except the very short "Princess and the Pea") have something a little more in the original. For once, the introduction was interesting and the endnotes helpful; a really good presentation from Granta. ( )