The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
Written by Hans Christian Andersen
Translated by Anthea Bell
Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
New York, Minedition/Penguin, 2004
9" x 11"
Kerlan Collection, Children's Literature Research Collections
University of Minnesota Libraries
An Austrian artist and recipient of the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in illustration, Lisbeth Zwerger has made a specialty of refreshing classic tales with her ethereal watercolors. Zwerger's Little Mermaid, which first appeared as a traditional picture book in 2004, hews more closely to Andersen's original three-hanky love story than does the more upbeat Disney version. Here, digital animation, by enabling the heroine's watery world to ripple and stir to the touch, adds subtle visual grace notes to a multilayered narrative that needs to be savored.
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