The Steadfast Tin Soldier - Hardcover

Anderson, Hans Christian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1592702023 ISBN 13: 9781592702022

Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, 2016

Synopsis

The Steadfast Tin Soldier is the first story Andersen wrote without a folktale source or literary model, so it stands as a completely original work of the imagination, which changed the fairytale genre for all time. 

"There were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers. They were all brothers, born of the same old tin spoon. . . . All looked exactly alike except one. He looked a little different as he had been cast last of all. The tin was short, so he had only one leg. . . . But just you see, he'll be the remarkable one." 

So begins Andersen's classic tale of good and evil; purity and personality; fate and grace. In this boldly-illustrated contemporary retelling, Yoon takes on the harshness and poignancy of the story, leaving readers with the sense that nothing is ever lost—it just changes shape and continues anew.

JooHee Yoon is an illustrator and printmaker committed to the art of bookmaking. She enjoys combining illustration with design and using both traditional and industrial printing techniques. Rather than a single approach, she tries to match the tone of each project. She strives to create picture books that work on many levels and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

About this title

Review

★"Colored in bold reds, blacks, and grays, Yoon's angular mixed-media prints highlight the soldier's stoicism and the perils he faces." -- STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
"Hans Christian Andersen’s iconic tale of love, loyalty, and loss, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, is retold by Joohee Yoon using classic printmaking artistry with an avant-garde edge. In gray scale with vivid scarlet splashes, the story of the soldier and the ballerina unfolds, maintaining all the tragic dignity of the original while infusing a fresh and thrilling air of suspense and emotion, ideal for those experiencing the tin soldier’s journey for the first time or the fiftieth."―Foreword Reviews
"...absolutely stunning.” ―Sally Morgan, The Curious Reader (Glen Rock, NJ)
"Yoon faithfully retells Andersen’s literary fairy tale in sober prose and dazzling illustrations, created by hand drawing, relief printing, and computer techniques. The story of the one-legged toy soldier who falls in love with a paper ballerina and accidentally embarks on a series of adventures certainly has its grim moments, and Yoon’s art―with its layered patterns and textures, limited palette (red, black, and gray), and dynamic perspectives―revels in these. ... Yoon’s art, with its intentionally static feel despite all those eye-catching patterns, evokes the heart of Andersen’s tale: the tragedy of the soldier’s steadfastness and enforced passivity."―Katrina Hedeen, The Horn Book

”I’m such a sucker for everything that [JooHee Yoon] makes, and this didn’t disappoint. She perfectly achieves a captivating story using black, white, red, and silver in graphic shapes, texture, and a beautiful style.” ―The Reading Ninja

About the Author

JooHee Yoon is an illustrator and printmaker committed to the art of bookmaking. She enjoys combining illustration with design whenever possible and using both traditional and industrial printing techniques for her projects. Rather than a single approach, she tries to match the tone of each project. She strives to create picture books that work on many levels and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

About this edition

• Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1592702023
• ISBN 13: 9781592702022
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Yoon JooHee