THE TRUE UGLY DUCKLING: HOW HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN BECAME A SWAN, by Sandra Nickel and Calvin Nicholls, Levine Querido, March 3, 2026, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 4-8)
Learn the story behind the storyteller in The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan, by Sandra Nickel and Calvin Nicholls.
He brought to life stories and characters that millions have loved: A one-legged tin soldier who yearned for love. A poor little match girl. A mermaid who gave up her voice for a prince. But who was Hans Christian Andersen? He was a “strange child.” An ugly duckling. Even his mother said so. He didn’t seem to think like, or look like, anyone around him. But while his tender heart was bruised by ridicule, it responded by driving an unstoppable urge to create, to entertain. If he couldn’t act he would dance, if he couldn’t dance he would sing, and if he couldn’t sing … well, maybe he had stories to tell. With each rejection and defeat, Hans would soothe himself by making art with scissors and whatever was handy. A bit of cloth, a piece of paper. Until one day…
Structured like a fairy tale, this is the story of how Hans Christian Andersen took all the parts of his life—whether painful or transcendent—and used them to create books that have touched children the world over.
This is the first picture book biography of Andersen to be told through a lens that takes into account what scholars now know of his neurodiversity. Anderson, for instance, often told stories while keeping his hands busy by making paper-cut art. In this spirit, the illustrations by Calvin Nicholls are all created as paper-cut soft sculptures. —Synopsis provided by Levine Querido
The True Ugly Duckling is one of the most beautifully written and illustrated biographies I’ve come across.
Through her text, author Sandra Nickel, who like Andersen is neurodivergent, shows how Andersen found his place in the world. Nickel acknowledges how Andersen’s stories resonated with readers long ago and continue to do so today. Nickel’s writing is warm and confident, making you want to know more about the man behind the fairy tales.
Calvin Nicholls takes the story up a notch with his stunning sculpted paper illustrations. He offers up a 3-D masterpiece with each turn of the page. His attention to detail and ability to capture emotion make this book a unique treat.
Every library, public, school or home, should have a copy of The True Ugly Duckling.
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