I almost forgot how much I loved the story of The Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian Anderson, until I re-read this favorite classic. This particular version was illustrated by Robert Van Nutt. In this story, a duckling was the last of his brothers and sisters to hatch. When he was born, his mother defended him but all the other animals called him ugly. All his life, he gets made fun of and ends up with VERY low self-esteem. Even the hen and the cat and the dogs won't treat him as an equal; they all look down on him. No matter what he does, the poor duckling seems never to fit in. In the end, he decides to join the swans because he would rather be pecked to death by them then live more of his life in mental anguish. It turns out, however, that he is a SWAN! He is the most beautiful swan of all, even the swans agree!
I love this story! It is a great story about self-esteem. This duckling had very low self-esteem throughout his whole life, but he needn't have. Students should learn from this book that things are not always as they appear. At first, this "duckling" appeared ugly and a misfit, but later, we learn that he is a beautiful swan. I would love to read this book again and would definitely have a version of this story in my classroom.
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