This book has a special place in my heart. This was the first fairy tale that I had read, at the age of 5. When I had finished reading all the Mayavi comics and Chandhamama comics, I troubled my mother to get me more. That was when I my mother walked to the nearest bookstore and got me this book. I remember reading this illustrated book at least 50 times before I got bored of it.
The language is so simple and is ideal for a kid who just begins to read books. It is short book of just 40 pages with beautiful illustrations by Brad Sneed, which makes the story relatable and adds to the appeal of the book. The characters are live and relatable, and the emotions of the protagonist has been beautifully captured by the author.
This book has its set of setbacks as well. There is a lack of any significant female character other than the protagonist. Further, the story begins with a mother who yearns for a child, but the child gets kidnapped and never finds her way back to mother. The grief experienced by a mother due to the loss of a child doesn't justify the happy ending of the story in my opinion.
Plot Summary:
This is a tale of a young girl who was so tiny, barely the size of a human thumb, and thus named Thumbelina. She was born out of a red barleycorn flower that her mother planted in her garden. One fine night while she was asleep, she was kidnapped by an ugly toad who wished to marry her to his son. Help came in the form of a fish in the pond, who heard the girl cry while being alone. The fish bit on the lily stalk and cut it, allowing the girl to escape on the lily pad. She later meets a white butterfly who graciously helped her escape faster by dragging the leaf along the water. When things seemed to go well, a big maybug swooped out of nowhere and snatched her away. The butterfly being attached to the leaf got caught in the stream current. When the bug flaunted the girl in front of his friends, they ridiculed him and called her ugly, and this made him discard her. After walking around, she met an old field mouse who gave her shelter for the winter. In return, she offered to the household chores. One day, she spotted a wounded swallow in the passageway of the grumpy mole who lived next door. She slipped out of the mouse's house and nursed the bird and sang to him. The mole heard her voice and fell in love with her. Over time, the swallow is healed and strong enough to fly. As a mark of gratitude, the bird offered to fly her from the place, but she refused as it would hurt the mouse. In the summer, the mouse told her to marry the mole and she hated it. When the mole tried to marry her forcefully, the swallow came to her rescue and carried her to a far-off land where she met her prince charming - the crystal fairy king. They get married and live happily ever after.
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