The Steadfast Tin Soldier

Starred review from March 25, 2013
Teaming up for another fairy tale retelling, following Hansel and Gretel (2008), Corace and Rylant breathe life into Hans Christian Andersen's story of a one-legged tin soldier who falls in love with a dancing doll. She's as delicate as he is pokerfaced, but he sees that they have one thing in common: "Most amazingly of all, she balanced on one leg!" After a jealous goblin knocks the soldier out the window, he is pushed downstream in a newspaper boat and swallowed by a fish, but he meets his fate "with courage" until he can see the doll again. Rylant preserves the story's character-building insistence on the soldier's decorum throughout his ordeal. At the same time, the sight of him in his dress uniform, bayonet at the ready, lodged upside down in a garden bed or lying patiently in the belly of the huge fish will make readers smile. The slightly oversize format gives Corace scope to paint the period interiors from a toy's-eye view, echoing Rylant's opening observation: "Toys have their own mysterious lives and adventures that we may never know." Ages 4 – 8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

June 1, 2013

Gr 1-3-Text and illustrations weave seamlessly to create an involving, fast-paced update of a much-loved tale. Rylant's retelling is abridged, yet sprightly, and Corace's watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and pen-and-ink illustrations add nuance and whimsy to Andersen's original. When the retelling states that, "Toys have their own mysterious lives and adventures that we may never know...," the artist shows a cozy, toy-filled playroom with an evil goblin glowering mysteriously in the shadows. Readers first meet the steadfast tin soldier, a brave toy with only one leg, and the beautiful little dancer, and see the playroom from their perspectives. When the goblin is introduced, kids see the scene from his shabby home in the matchbox under the stove. The retelling is enlivened by a keen sense of the characters. Despite tragic obstacles, the tin soldier, "managed to be as proud as ever, as all soldiers should in difficult times," while the little dancer, "kept her balance, as all dancers should in difficult times." The distinctive illustrations capture both the story's melodrama and playful appeal, such as when two boys salute the tin soldier as his newspaper boat speeds along the fast-moving gutter stream. This spirited retelling reinvigorates this classic tale.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2013
Grades K-3 In Andersen's classic story, a boy's tin soldier falls in love with a little ballerina figure nearby. One day the soldier falls from the window, possibly pushed by a goblin. Outside, he is put into a paper boat and sent sailing down the gutter and into deeper waters. Swallowed by a large fish, the soldier is freed by the cook in his old household and returned to his former room. Gracefully written, Rylant's simplified version of the story diverges from Andersen's in some details along the way, but primarily by changing the ending to a conventionally happy one. The book's large format gives plenty of scope for Corace's distinctive illustrations, precise ink drawings brightened with watercolor, gouache, and acrylic paints. Sometimes brilliantly colorful and sometimes more subdued, the scenes can be crowded with dozens of toys or other visual elements, but they show up well from a distance. The subtle depictions of the goblin and his shadow are particularly fine. A softened vision of the literary fairy tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

Starred review from October 10, 2016
In a visually striking and fittingly dark interpretation of a tragic fairy tale, a one-legged tin soldier falls in love with a paper ballerina. After falling from a window, the soldier begins a circuitous journey, eventually swallowed by a fish. Colored in bold reds, blacks, and grays, Yoon’s angular mixed-media prints highlight the soldier’s stoicism and the perils he faces. Yoon (The Tiger Who Would Be King) confronts the story’s darkest moments head on: when a cook cuts open the fish and discovers the soldier inside, its blood and entrails pour out grotesquely. And, as in the original Andersen, the soldier and ballerina’s relationship ends in fire, as they are incinerated in a stove. Ages 6–9.

September 28, 1992
The masterful pastel illustrations that distinguished the artist's Caldecott Honor-winning Puss in Boots transform yet another timeless tale into a modern classic. This graceful retelling of Andersen's touching story of true love between a malformed toy soldier and a paper ballerina is charged with both romance and heroism. Alternating perspectives achieve striking visual effect--toys and animals loom large as seen through the stoic vision of the brave soldier; at other points during his perilous journey he appears as a mere sliver of blue and red amid the city's bustle. The soft glow of candlelight imparts a shadowy warmth to the interior scenes, which feature a gaggle of handsomely turned out children admiring their Christmas bounty. Seidler's ( A Rat's Tale ; The Tar Pit ) polished prose perfectly complements the artwork: ``The tin soldier was so touched that he would have shed tin tears--if he hadn't been in uniform. As it was, he just looked at her, and she looked at him, neither of them saying a word.'' Though perfect for the holiday season, this exquisite book may well stay on the shelf year-round. All ages.

July 1, 2013
While faithfully tracing most of the canonical story, Rylant changes its slant and pulls it into the mainstream with a happy ending. Where Andersen plunged right into a crisp narrative ("There were once twenty-five tin soldiers, all brothers, for they all came from one old tin spoon" [Keigwen translation]), Rylant begins with her own explicit, different, theme ("There are some who believe toys cannot love, but this is far from true"). While neither endows toys with agency, Rylant gives them thoughts and emotions, whereas Andersen ironically suggests that any meanings to their experiences are borne of our imagination -- and that what this signifies is larger than the toys' drama. Still, Rylant is an appealing storyteller, and though she lets the soldier stay "forevermore" with the little dancer, that romantic outcome may suit those who find the Dane's bittersweet ending hard to bear. Large, broad spreads suggest group sharing; closer perusal reveals many a detail, especially of toys in a well-filled nursery. In Corace's mixed-media art, with its puddled-on watercolor and flat perspectives, these details can be individually intriguing, though at times the overall effect is unfocused and cluttered (especially an unforgivably information-distressed title page). Earlier (and handsome) editions illustrated by Fred Marcellino and P. J. Lynch (both rev. 3/93) are truer to Andersen, but Rylant's is sure to find a place. joanna rudge long

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2013
While faithfully tracing most of the canonical story, Rylant pulls it into the mainstream with a happy ending. Rylant is an appealing storyteller, and the romantic outcome may suit those who find Andersen's ending hard to bear. In Corace's mixed-media art, with its puddled-on watercolor and flat perspectives, details can be intriguing, though at times the overall effect is cluttered.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)