The Little Match Girl

The Little Match Girl is a children's fairy tale.

Fast Facts

1. Author: Hans Christian Andersen
2. Genre: Children's Fairy Tale
3. Publication date: 1848
4. Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
5. Pages: 32
6. ISBN 9780142301883
7. Age Range: 4 to 8 years
8. Adaptations: Cartoon in 1937 and Movie in 2006
9. Themes: Poverty, Death, Cruelty, Dreams, Wishes, Innocence

Synopsis

The Little Match Girl is a story about a little girl selling matches on the streets in the freezing winter. She has no shoes or hat, but she fears going home because she's sold no matches and her father will surely beat her. She begins to light her matches, and each one brings with it a pleasant wish to warm her soul.

Critical Reception

• "The whole point of this story is to bring the searchlight of compassion and charity into the heart. Too often we tend to think ourselves poor. In Andersons day we would all be considered rich compared with most of those about. And fortunate." - Amazon.com user review

• "Every page contains a similar shock, a moment of alienation, and yet viewers will likely feel the rightness of these images for one of Andersen's most disturbing stories. This rendering will be best suited to those who know the tale well and can appreciate this intellectual, abstract presentation." - Publishers Weekly

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