My favorite fairy tale. I checked this book out over and over again at the library when I was a child. Beautiful illustrations.

Mommy's review from 10/4/11 -


Julia kept putting off reading this so I started to think maybe she'd glanced through it and wasn't interested. I don't make her read anything if she doesn't want to so I thought I'd give it a read if all else failed and note that she didn't want to read it.
Well, it turned out she was "saving it for the end because it looks great". *smile* I love this kid.
I haven't read the original telling of this story so I can't compare but Julia and I both really liked this version. I thought it interesting that Julia was able to see similarities between this and Cinderella and talk about the story in more of an adult way than she used to be able to. This impressed her. And so it impresses me.
The illustrations are beautiful. Most of the time that's secondary to me. The story is what I'm interested in. I love, love, love when the images in a book "match" the story but it would have to be pretty bad to take away from the story for me. Jeffers' illustrations are breathtaking though - they'll leave you speechless.

Hans Christian Anderson is one of my favorite story tellers, and this particular version of wild swans is no exceptions. What made me give this book a five our of five stars is the illustrations done by Susan Jeffers. Amazing details, colors, that perfectly capture the mood and the feeling of the story. They are just down right beautiful. Honestly I'm going to photocopy the pictures and use them to decorate my home. Anyway, the Wild Swans is an amazing story especially for those looking for a princess saving a boy (in this case 11 boys).

This is Ehrlich's retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson fairly tale. What a beautiful story of family love and loyalty!

So weird. So glad picture books have come such a long way

I grew up with this gorgeous telling of the classic Andersen tale and, to this day, it remains my favorite fairy tale of all. Amy Ehrlich does a phenomenal job of writing it, and Susan Jeffers's timeless illustrations truly capture the beauty of the tale. This will continue to be a well-beloved story in my house with my children.

Mommy says: Kept both kids rapt for the whole book. However, typical Hans Christian Anderson (this is s aretelling of his original); there is some violence.

Impressive illustrations! This was a great retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale. I do wish that the evil stepmother had gotten some kind of punishment at the end, though, and that the king had been reunited with his children. (But this is a fairy tale and they often have loose ends like that.)

Aunt cast a spell on the princess but her brothers still protect her.. Students will tell about a time they helped someone after someone was being mean to them.

The Wild Swans, illustrated by Susan Jeffers.

Originally published in 1838, Andersen's The Wild Swans - in which a beautiful and virtuous young princess must endure many hardships in order to restore her eleven brothers to their human form, after their wicked stepmother's curse transforms them into swans - has its origins in the Danish folk tradition, rather than its author's fertile imagination. Taken from Matthias Winther's 1823 Danske folkeeventyr (which seems, sadly, never to have been translated into English), it is quite similar to a number of tales from the Brothers Grimm (n  The Six Swansn, n  The Twelve Brothersn), as well as the old Irish story of n  The Children Of Lirn.

That folkloric association, which seems to have resulted in a less self-consciously moral tone than can be found in some of the author's original creations, may explain the fact that this has always been one of my absolute favorites, of Andersen's many tales. Elisa's epic quest, her meeting with the good fairy, her perseverance in the face of misunderstanding and persecution - even in the face of the withdrawal of the king's love - all enthralled me as a girl, and I read this story again and again.

This version, adapted by Amy Ehrlich and illustrated by Susan Jeffers, offers an engaging narrative and appealing artwork, and was for many years the only retelling of The Wild Swans in my possession. But although quite fond of it, I had always felt that it fell a little short, when it came to capturing the magic and wonder of the tale, an impression reinforced when I discovered the astonishingly beautiful version illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert. Still, while this Ehrlich/Jeffers undertaking may have been eclipsed, it retains a place in my affections, and is worth seeking out!

Like all of the books that have been retold by Amy Ehrlich and illustrated by Susan Jeffers, this is beautiful in both words and pictures. This faithful retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is not a little kids book any more than they would the original REAL "Little Mermaid". But older children and adults will find it wonderful.

beautiful book!