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The Ugly Duckling Animated Cover
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The Ugly Duckling Audiobook Story

The ugly duckling feels like he does not belong. Will he ever find his place in the world? The Ugly Duckling’s journey throughout this story explores the value of acceptance, empathy and inner beauty, encouraging our young readers to look beyond appearances and treat others with kindness and compassion. Other themes we explore in our retelling of The Ugly Duckling are bullying, empathy, acceptance and perception. The original fairy tale was written by Hans Christian Andersen and published on November 11, 1843. Hans Christian Andersen had said that this fairy tale was inspired by his own experiences growing up  feeling like an outsider and often being teased by his peers.

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Can you read this story for free?

Yes! You can read this modern retelling for free. Our story retellings closely follow the original storylines and add modern twists in the illustrations.

Is there a version of this story read aloud?

You can choose to experience this story read aloud or you can read it yourself.

Is this a good bedtime story?

This is a great example of a bedtime story. It’s nostalgic for parents and has a happy ending for kids. That’s if they make it to the end of the story before falling asleep!

Why do we write bedtime stories for kids?

When we first decided to create a bedtime story for kids, we knew we wanted it to be fun, engaging and high quality.

We wanted Sooper Books to bring children's publishing into the 21st century. We strongly believe that nighttime stories for kids need to fit seamlessly into modern family lives which is why our free stories are all online.

It began when we started writing stories for our own family. Then our friends and wider families asked for copies and we started to share Sooper Books with other children.

At Sooper Books we write, curate and narrate stories for kids so they can enjoy the best quality content, enchanting stories and magical adventures. With our stories we work towards promoting a positive attitude to reading and instill a love of books in children from an early age.

About Sooper Books

Our 5-10 minute online kids bedtime stories, fairy tales, funny rhymes and fables all come with award-winning audio.

From short stories for kids to multiple story episodes in our original series collections, our content is sure to make your little ones’ eyes sparkle with delight.

At Sooper Books, children can explore the magical world of fairies and witches, brave knights, talking animals and more. Our stories for kids feature an array of characters such as lovable princesses, funny frogs, gentle giants and wise wizards.

So whether you're specifically looking for a fairy tale or a rhyme, or maybe you just need some short bedtime stories for kids. Take the stress out of bedtime by reading one of our kids stories today!