The Amazing Paper Cuttings of Hans Christian Andersen

by Beth Wagner Brust

Hardcover, 1994

Status

Available

Local notes

921 And (c.1)

Barcode

5603

Collection

Genres

Publication

HMH Books for Young Readers (1994), Edition: First Edition, 80 pages

Description

Hans Christian Andersen was a gifted artist as well as a storyteller and writer who used his many talents to escape the poverty into which he was born. Beth Wagner Brust tells the story of Hans Christian Andersen as an artist, describing how and why he made paper cuttings, which, like his tales, were innovative and original.

Awards

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

80 p.; 8.75 inches

User reviews

LibraryThing member amclellan0908
Though the book reads somewhat like a biography of Hans Christian Anderson, the text focuses on a more obscure talent of Anderson's--the art of paper cutting. We know Anderson was a skilled story teller; what I did not know until I read this book was Anderson's ability to cut his story out of
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paper. Using photographs of the existing paper cuttings, Brust shares how many of the existing pieces came into being: Anderson would tell stories for children while he stayed in their homes, and as he told the story, he would cut paper in particular places. When he finished the story, he unfolded the paper to reveal intricate artwork. I enjoyed the use of pictures in the text; it would be difficult to appreciate Anderson's skill with scissors without the photographs.

I could easily use this book in a nonfiction unit for a middle school ELA course or an early high school ELA course. I would use it to teach the research and writing processes, since Brust takes a familiar topic, Hans Christian Anderson, and then shares something the audience likely does not know about the topic. I could have students take a familiar historical figure and use the research process to write about a lesser-known area of his or her life.
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Pages

80

Rating

(8 ratings; 4.3)
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