Hans Christian Andersen Books In Order

Publication Order of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Young Reading 1 Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author of fairy tales, novelist, poet, and dramatist. He was born on 2 April 1805 and died on 4 August 1875. He is remembered for his unique and outstanding fairy tales.

His work, the 168 Tales, has a pearl of mature wisdom and is popular among young readers. Most of Andersen’s stories have a folk, legendary origin, and symbolic significance. His work is not only for children; his stories express themes surpassing age and nationality.
Andersen’s fairy tales have been translated into 125 languages and culturally implanted in the West’s collective consciousness. Even though the stories are designed for the young audience, parenting lessons on resilience and virtue are also present.
His famous works include The Ugly Duckling, the Nightingale, and The Little Mermaid. His tales range from 1835 to 1872. Most of his work has been adapted into animated films and plays.

The Ugly Duckling’ story starts when the duck’s egg hatches. Other birds and animals on the farm see the duckling as ugly creatures and start throwing all kinds of physical and verbal abuse. He walks around embarrassed and soon leaves the barnyard and chooses to live with wild ducks and geese.

Escaping an instance where his life was in danger after the hunters slaughtered the entire flock, the duckling went to live with an old lady and her cat; he finds comfort in their home. However, before long, her hen and cat start making fun of him, and he decides to return to the wilderness since he can’t lay eggs like the hen.

He had started missing the green wilderness, the sunlight, and the fresh air. He also missed swimming, and when the cat and the old lady started joking about him, the duckling saw no reason to stay.

While wandering around, the duckling spots a flock of migrating wild swans; for once, he feels excited. However, he can’t join them since he is too young and can’t fly.

When winter comes, a farmer finds him and carries the young duckling home, but he starts feeling frightened by the farmer’s loud and noisy children and decides to escape the home. The little duckling spends the freezing season outside, mostly hiding in a cave near a partially frozen lake.

Paddling around, he tries to keep the water flowing in the partly frozen lake. He even got stuck in the ice at one point until one kind farmer came to his rescue.

The Ugly Duckling, grown and mature, finds it hard to live a solitary life filled with hardship, so he mixes with the flock of swans. She feels it’s better to be killed but the beautiful birds than live a life full of misery and ugliness.
To his surprise, the swans give him a warm welcome, and after looking at his reflection in the water, he realizes that he has been a swan and not a duckling all along. As the flock goes up the sky, the beautiful swan, for the first time, spreads his large wings and flies with the rest of the family.

The Ugly Duckling has been a favorite novel for most children for decades, and the new adaptation brings it triumphantly to the new reader generation. The author does an amazing job of capturing the essence of the story’s timeless aspect.
The adventures of the little bird as he encounters hunters and harsh weather is a survival story reminding and encouraging the reader to always be patient in life.

The little duckling was never accepted everywhere he went until he met those of his kind. No animal wanted to be associated with him; instead, they teased and laughed at him.

After setting off on his own, time passes, winter comes, and he must endure the strong wind and snow. Her grew thinner and thinner, and he became sadder by the day.

The story majorly portrays pain, humor, compassion, and triumph beautifully. It focuses on how painful and hard sometimes it can be to find inner beauty, especially when everyone around you is judging one’s outside appearance.
The Little Match Girl is a tale of a poor young girl trading matches for money near a rich man’s home.

The story begins during a cold new year’s Eve, as a poor young girl strives to sell matches in the street. She is trembling due to cold and early hypothermia as she walks barefoot after losing her slippers. She fears going home since her father will punish her for not selling matches. She also knows that the cracks in their house will not keep the cold wind from penetrating.

The girl sits in an alley, lighting the matches to warm herself. As the sparks glow, she can see some amazing visions, including a stove and a holiday feast. She can see a goose almost jumping at her and a Christmas tree bigger than she saw at the rich man’s house.
As the girl looks into the sky, she can see a shooting star, and at that moment, she remembers her late grandmother telling her that a falling star is a sign that someone is dying and going to Heaven. While lighting the next match, the girl sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person who treated her with love.

In order to keep her grandmother’s vision alive, the girl lights the entire bunch of matches at a go. After she runs out of matches, the child dies and feels her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The following day, the passers-by find the girl dead in the alley, frozen with a smile on her face. They pretend to show pity for her even when they never cared about her when she was alive.

Too bad they can’t find out about the beautiful visions she saw before dying and how she and her grandmother are celebrating the new year in Heaven gloriously. The author puts on the readers’ sympathy for the poor little girl by contrasting the chill weather against her silent wish for a good meal eaten by the rich kids.