Thumbelina

Like most of the stories of the great Danish storyteller, the tale of Thumbelina is not borrowed from folklore, but was invented personally by the author.

A lonely woman dreams of a child and turns to a witch for help. She gives her a barley grain, from which a flower grows with a tiny girl inside - Thumbelina. But Thumbelina is not destined to live a carefree life in her mother's house. First, she is kidnapped by a toad, then she falls into the clutches of a May beetle and, finally, becomes the bride of a rich mole. Fortunately, the girl is saved by a swallow, whom kind-hearted Thumbelina herself once saved from death. The ending of the fairy tale is logical: Thumbelina will be rewarded for her meekness and generosity. She will find her happiness in a beautiful garden and marry the equally miniature and beautiful king of the elves.

In the first translations into Russian, the fairy tale "Thumbelina" was called "Lizok-s-vershok". The word "Thumbelina" was invented by the wonderful Russian translator Anna Ganzen. Together with her Danish husband Peter Ganzen, at the end of the 19th century, she translated all of Andersen's fairy tales into Russian; these translations are still considered the best.

After the revolution, Andersen's translations made by Peter and Anna Ganzen began to be mercilessly distorted. In our book, the translation is published in the original, pre-revolutionary edition. And accompanied by magnificent illustrations by Boris Diodorov, which are rightfully considered among the best in the world.

Boris Diodorov is an outstanding book illustrator. He illustrated more than 300 books, which were then published in millions of copies in Russia and abroad. His works can be found in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Andersen Museum in Denmark, the Chihiro Museum in Japan, the Slovak National Gallery (Bratislava) and in private collections around the world. He is the only winner of the Andersen Grand Prix in Russia and the sixth in the world. He was awarded the honorary title of "Andersen Ambassador to Russia".

Boris Diodorov's drawings are striking in the beauty of their fine lines. Most of them were created using the etching technique. A steel needle scratches a drawing onto a varnished metal plate. Although this technique is complex, it allows for extraordinary finesse and airiness of lines: after all, no pen can draw as finely as a needle.

Recommended reader age: 4+

Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Artist: Diodorov Boris
Translation: Hansen Anna, Hanzen Peter
Publisher: Melik-Pashayev
Pages: 32
Dimensions: 280 × 215 × 3 mm
Cover type: Softcover
ISBN: 978-5-00041-599-3