A timeless story deftly retold, this adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen"s The Ugly Duckling shines under the storytelling skills of Carnegie-winner Kevin Crossley-Holland (The Seeing Stone) and the playful watercolors of Meilo So (The 20th-Century Children"s Poetry Treasury). This all-star pair of Brits captures the personality of the poor persecuted duckling perfectly, as he"s shunned by his fellow farm animals, his family, and even by a hunting party: "Mercy!" cheeped the little duckling. "I"m so ugly not even the dog wants me." He then begins a year-long journey through an inhospitable world, further rejected by an old woman and her cruel cat and hen ("Can"t you lay eggs?" asked the hen. "No," said the duckling. "Shut up, then!"). The beauty of So"s delicate strokes only grows as the story reaches its time-honored climax, the reunion of the "duckling" with a flock of regal swans. And just as Andersen"s story is likely semiautobiographical, more than a few kids (and grownups, too) will be particularly pleased when our handsome hero finds his home. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes