?The Ugly Duckling - Where To

The interactive book: The Ugly Duckling – Where To? – Education Towards Tolerance*, in English and in Hebrew, printed and digital, suggests a different interpretation than the common one of H.  C.  Andersen’s most touching story: The Ugly Duckling which was written in 1843. It aims at developing critical thinking among its readers (from 9 years old to 90 +) and at combatting racism by revealing the discriminatory basic concept that stands behind Andersen’s tale

White = beautiful opposite Dark grey = Ugly

The Ugly Duckling expresses this view towards the end of the story: …” From a thicket close by came three beautiful white swans” …, he is eager to approach the “royal” birds but hesitates. He looks at his reflection mirrored in the water: “But what did he see in the clear stream below? His own image; no longer a dark, grey bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan

Andersen’s tale is translated into 65 languages. Unintentionally, parents and educators that introduce young children to this tale, teach them a prejudiced lesson that is hard to change or to delete in later years

The readers of The Ugly Duckling – Where To? are invited to carefully examine Andersen’s original story and to invent/choose a happy ending that is consistent with the democratic and the humanist values of our time. They are equipped with a picturesque Ladder Test and a Circle Test that makes it easier for them to distinguish between a closed social system’s solution to an open democratic one

I deeply hope that the book will help “….to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man…” (Amanda Gorman’s poem) and will serve as a tool for both parents and educators in education towards tolerance

The book is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1089985479  in printed and digital formats in English as well as in Hebrew and is recommended to 3^rd -5^th grades

*The booklet is an outcome of the academic essay

Israeli, L. (2011). "The Other - a Resource or a Threat? Polar interpretations of two children’s stories: The Ugly Duckling by H"C Anderson & Raspberry Juice by H’ Shenav" (Journal of Peace Education, Vol. 8, No.1, p.1-17)

 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2011.553374