This beautifully written story, loosely inspired by Hans Christian
Andersen's fairy tale "Thumbelina," was created in response to the
gorgeous award-winning art of Nasrin Khosravi.
Author Uma Krishnaswami's sensitive and poetic tale opens when Lina, a
tiny girl no bigger than a thumb, is found in a flower by her mother.
Because she is so tiny, adventure and mishap easily befall her -- a
giant frog leaves her stranded on a lily pad, she is freed by curious
fish, then pestered by crazy bugs. Lina lives by herself in the depths
of a forest until the cold of winter approaches and she begins to feel
lonely. She encounters a mouse, who is happy to have someone to dust and
sweep for him, but one day in the back room of his house Lina comes
across the body of a swallow. The mouse is convinced the bird is dead
but Lina, thinking she sees a wing tremble, brings it food and water.
Amazingly, the swallow revives and the two of them fly together to the
garden of wishes...
Iranian-born illustrator Nasrin Khosravi won the Grand Prize at the Noma
Concours in Japan (2000) and was selected as best illustrator at the
Tehran International Biennial of Illustration (1999) when these
paintings were first published in a Farsi version of Andersen's tale.
They now grace this new Thumbelina story, giving young readers in North
America an opportunity to delight in her work. Uma Krishnaswami's text
perfectly captures the spirit of the luminous illustrations, creating a
book that is beautiful, magical and mysterious.
