An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year excluded by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.

For two hundred years, Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite all over the world. Now Robert Ingpen brings his spectacular adaptation to new generations of readers. Born bigger and different than the other hatchlings, the ugly duckling is ridiculed by his brothers and sisters, rejected by the other ducks, and eventually shunned by his own mother. The little bird leaves his home, embarking on a brave journey through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons-only to discover that the beauty he was seeking was inside him all along. A beautifully told and brilliantly illustrated edition of this classic, essential story every child should embrace.