The story of Ugly Duckling and its themes have appeared in literature and other forms of art. This page provides a small discussion of some of the better known treatments by authors and other artists. Novels produced by romance publishers are not listed on this page, but can be found on Romance Novels: Fairy Tale Romances at Ugly Duckling.

Literature   Poetry   Music   Film   Theatre

Literature: Novels

Johansen, Iris. Ugly Duckling. New York: Bantam Books, 1996.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Plain, soft-spoken Nell Calder isn't the type of woman to inspire envy, lust - or murderous passions. Until one night on an exotic island in the Aegean Sea, at an elegant gathering that should have cemented her husband's glorious career in finance, the unimaginable happens ... and in the space of a heartbeat, Nell's life, her dreams, her future are shattered by a spray of bullets and the razor edge of a blade. Though badly hurt, Nell emerges from the nightmare a woman transformed. Delicate surgery gives her an exquisitely beautiful face. Rehabilitation gives her a strong, lithe body. And Nicholas Tanek, a mysterious stranger who compels both fear and fascination, gives her a reason to go on living: revenge - at any price. Enigmatic, with a shadowy past and more secrets than Nell could ever imagine, Tanek knows far more about the attack than he is willing to admit. Yet when he divulges the identity of her assailant to Nell, he makes the biggest mistake of his life. For as Nicholas gets closer to his quarry, he'll find his carefully laid plans jeopardized at every turn by a bold woman daring to strike out on her own. And Nell will find her mission imperiled by Tanek's dangerous magnetism, a temptation to which she cannot afford to surrender."

Morinaga, Ai. Duck Prince. New York: Central Park Media, 2004.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: From the publisher: "In reality, an ugly duckling could never become a beautiful swan. However, when a short, ugly boy makes a wish to be reborn beautiful, his wish is granted, and he becomes a gorgeous hunk. All the girls fall for him, but this is just the start of his troubles." Part of a graphic novel series.

Napoli, Donna Jo. Napoli. New York: Hyperion, 2006.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.

NOVEL: School Library Journal review courtesy of Amazon.com: "Using a Tasmanian setting for this retelling of Hans Christian Andersens The Ugly Duckling, Napoli has fashioned a witty and entertaining book. The duckling, called Ugly by his Pacific black duck siblings, is late to hatch and behaves strangely, but is sustained by his mother, who believes he is smart. Ejected from the duck colony after a severe pecking because he is different, Ugly sets off to find a friend. Many helpful animals, including a wombat and a golden bristletail possum, provide advice, warmth, and knowledge. They also alert him to dangerous predators such as a quoll, spurred platypus, and Tasmanian devil. Ugly also learns about humans when he encounters a family and an old woman who talks to herself and her pets. Humor lightens the story. Ugly meets teenage ganders that verbally and physically spar like egotistic adolescents, but the story takes a grim turn when the shocked duckling (surprising, too, for readers who may not be familiar with the original tale) witnesses their brutal slaughter by hunters. After a long and lonely year, Ugly discovers his true identity–he is a beautiful Australian black swan–and finds a home. Like Avis Poppy series (HarperCollins), this book is lush with details of the natural world and animal behavior and an elegant use of language."

Shusterman, Neal. Dread Locks: Dark Fusion #3. New York: Dutton, 2007.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Cara is so ugly, mirrors would rather break than show her reflection. Not even her own parents can deny her ugliness, and nothing can make up for the cruelty of her schoolmates. Tormented and tortured by the shallow people of Flock’s Rest, Cara’s life is miserable. Then Cara receives a shimmering note from some exotic place suggesting that there’s more to her than meets the eye. Cara wonders if her destiny has something to do with her recurring dreams of a beautiful green valley where the people are so accepting, her ugliness doesn’t matter. Soon, Cara discovers that her valley of dreams is real. It’s a place where the ugliest of ducklings can become swans. A swan, however, can have a serious taste for revenge . . . deadly revenge."

Read more about Neal Shusterman books.

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Poetry

Hay, Sara Henderson. "Local Boy Makes Good."Story Hour. Fayetteville, AS: University of Arkansas Press, 1998.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

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Music

I have listed primarily classical compositions of music using the themes of this fairy tale in either ballet, opera or some other musical style. I have also provided links to popular recordings of the music when available at Amazon.com. The advantage to these links is that you can listen to samples of the music at no charge.

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Film

To learn more about these films, please visit the
Internet Movie Database.

The Ugly Duckling (1931). Wilfred Jackson, director.
Buy the movie on DVD.

ANIMATION: Black and white. An early animation short from the Disney Silly Symphony series.

The Ugly Duckling (1939). Jack Cutting, director.
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ANIMATION: Color. The last animation short from the Disney Silly Symphony series. This version won an Academy Award.

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Theatre

Stiles, George and Anthony Drew. Honk!. George Stiles, composer. Anthoney Drew, lyricist. London, 2000.
Buy the book in paperback. or Buy the CD (Amazon.co.uk).

MUSICAL: "Ever had the feeling that everyone goes Quack and you go Honk!? Spring has come to the duckyard. Drake, the Mallard Duck, and his long suffering partner, Ida, await the birth of a new brood, but the clutch seems to contain one inordinately large egg this year.Sure enough, it cracks open to reveal an ugly chick nothing like his siblings, who makes a strange sound instead of the expected quack..." Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical 2000.

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