A red ladder roams the countryside looking for companionship. It inad vertently raises the characters it meets up to heaven, and it is sad when they don’t come back down. During a storm, though, using a bolt of lightning that “looked exactly like a stair” (n.p.), all the people and animals that climbed the ladder along the way are able to return. Acrylic illustrations provide bold color, directive angles, and sweeping brushstrokes, and fold-out pages emphasize the reach of the ladder. Celebrated American poet Marilyn Nelson gives astounding treatment to this story in verse, maintaining rhyme and style in translation. 2007 USBBY Outstanding International Books List. bef Author’s poetry is a fundamental part of the children’s literary canon in Den mark. He passed away in 2002. Translator lives in the United States and is, herself, a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winner; illustrator lives

Originally published as Stigen in Dan ish by Det Schønbergske Forlag Denmark, in 1969. Translated by Marilyn Nelson.

A curious ladder inadvertently becomes a pathway to the clouds in this droll, interactive translation of an enchanting Danish poem.

So first it did a little dance,
then it did a little prance,
then, as nicely as you please,
it waddled off with stiff red knees.

Once there was a jaunty ladder, abandoned by a mysterious carpenter, that sprung to life and decided to take a trip through the countryside. As time passed, the gentle ladder found itself intrigued by a seriesof encounters with people and animals that climbed it to the top and disappeared into the sky, only to return, one by one, in a triumphant parade at the end. This exquisite edition of THE LADDER, the text of which was originally written by renowned Danish poet Halfdan Rasmussen, combines a translation by award-winning author and poet Marilyn Nelson with simple, striking artwork by Pierre Pratt, featuring several foldouts and partial pages in a charming, whimsical design.