Here is a beautiful adaptation of Andersen’s Ugly Duckling fairy tale: a monolog in seven acts. I, a Duck is a cross between a picture book, a novel and a play. As the duckling grows, it finds its place – the duckling becomes a swan. This coming-of-age story favours emancipation over pity and challenges the established order. Instead of adopting a classic layout, the book alternates several pages of text with several pages of illustrations. Fanny Dreyer’s illustrations – delicately audacious watercolours – abound with mysterious forms of nature, including grass, flowers, stones, as seen from the duckling’s viewpoint. A poignant new voice for the Ugly Duckling.