Ḥālā Mā Chūchah Murghābī-yi Bī'qavārah rā Tamsīl Mī'kunīm: Dari (Farsi) 2023

Nominated for the August Prize 2014. Swedish children's and young people's book of the year. In children's play, anything is possible. When Barbro Lindgren lets children play with H. C. Andersen's ugly duckling, something happens. The humorous, child-friendly dialogue reshapes the entire tale. The moral of the story changes. The swan is transformed, going from outcast to unique, but on new terms. The fragile revelation of the gray-tufted swan stands out in both the crowd of ducklings and on spreads with large, clean fields of color in a subdued color scale. Eva Lindström captures the little bird's vulnerability to perfection. But also its inner growth. We all know H. C. Andersen's classic tale of the swan that ends up in a duck family. In Now We Play the Ugly Duckling, Barbro Lindgren retells the well-known story in her way. Two children with a lot of imagination play all the main characters of the tale. They play through nights, get past teasing ducklings, and defend themselves against mean peeping birds. They play until the transformation happens and the happy ending is a fact. The duckling has become a beautiful swan! Everything is illustrated by Eva Lindström, with characteristic and fantastic pictures. Barbro Lindgren and Eva Lindström are two of our absolute most beloved picture book creators. Now We Play the Ugly Duckling is a tribute to play and imagination. It is a fun, playful, and completely irresistible picture book.