THUMBELINA, TINY RUNAWAY BRIDE

It all begins when a young woman decides she wants a baby enough to visit a witch. After paying a fee, Anne Marie goes home with a seed that quickly grows and blossoms to reveal a tiny girl. Thumbelina grows up sheltered, loved and well-cared for, but full of curiosity about the outside world. She records her frustrations in her diary and begs her mother to let her sleep outside. Finally her mother agrees, but after a night spent playing tag with fireflies, the slumbering Thumbelina is kidnapped by a frog looking for a daughter-in-law. She escapes this fate with some effort and embarks on her own journey down the unfamiliar river. This fleshed-out version of the Andersen tale is faithful to the original and has a charming, old-fashioned tone that lovers of fairy tales will undoubtedly embrace. Crisp silhouettes appear as spot illustrations and hand-lettered diary entries alternate with the conventional text throughout, lending an air of timelessness. (Fiction. 7-10)