Jerry Pinkney brings his consummate skills as a wildlife artist to bear on this distinguished adaptation of Andersen’s classic tale. His realistic watercolor paintings place the reader squarely in the ducks’ environment, at the pond’s edge and at the waterline, allowing them to develop a great deal of empathy for the little duckling as he develops into a swan. The human characters who sometimes enter the picture appear to be members of a 19th century farm family who live near the pond. (Ages 4-8)