Growing a Reader: Kids' Books, Tips and More

This week, it is Hans Christian Andersen's birthday – he was born in 1805, in Denmark, on April 2nd. As a boy, Hans had an active imagination, which was encouraged by his paren'ts, and he left home to pursue an acting career at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. He began to write, first poetry, and then travel books, memoirs, novels, and, of course, fairy tales. His first book of fairy tales, published in 1835, was successful enough to encourage him to follow it with many more – the Hans Christian Andersen Center numbers his tales at at the impressive total of 210.

The fairy tales are, of course, what he was most famous for, and he put much of himself into them. Not only does he write about class and include autobiographical details like shoemakers (which his father was), but he also reflects his own experiences and awkwardness in stories about having compassion for outcasts, while making fun of the conceited.

Andersen was also known as a storyteller, a singer, and an artist. He was known to entertain groups of children, and to this day, a statue of him in New York's Central Park hosts storytelling afternoons in the summer in tribute. As an artist, he was also quite masterful at the art of papercutting, and would create delicate paper works, as well as fantastic tales to go with them. A collection is found at the Odense City Museum, and many images are viewable online on their website.

Hans Christian Andersen's legacy of stories has been read around the world, and makes it fitting that one of the highest international awards in children's literature has been named for him. So great is his impact and reach, that his hometown sees tourists visiting his home and his childhood home, and the University of Southern Denmark has a centre devoted to the study of the man and his works.

To learn more about him, you might try one of the website recommended on surfnetkids, here.