It's Perfectly True, illustrated by Janet Stevens.

Hans Christian Andersen's tale of gossip run wild is adapted and illustrated here by Janet Stevens, whose other projects in this vein include The Princess and the Pea and The Emperor's New Clothes. An amusing story of an innocent remark that grows more and more distorted, as it is overheard and repeated by a string of different birds, it reminded me a bit of the game of telephone.

Stevens' illustrated are humorous, with expressive bird faces communicating outrage and shock, and her narrative has an appealing, informal feeling to it. All in all, an engaging edition of one of Andersen's lesser-known tales, and that could be read together with For Sure! For Sure!, another picture-book retelling of the same tale, in a somewhat different style. Thank you Krista, for recommending this one! ( )