Emperor's New Clothes

by Ruth Belov Gross

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES by Hans Christian Anderson, retold by Ruth Belov Gross, with pictures by Jack Kent. Scholastic Press softcover 1977.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1837

About the author

Born in Philadelphia and raised in Florida, Ruth Belov Gross has lived in New York City ever since graduating from the University of Miami in 1950. Although her first job out of college was as an editorial assistant for a children's publishing house, Gross never planned to write for children herself. Instead she went on to a successful career as a medical writer, where she became adept at thorough and meticulous research and translating complex medical information into nontechnical language.

Such skills served her well when she wrote her first children's book, What Do Animals Eat?, in 1970, and though she initially assumed she would return to medical writing, she never did. “I was finally doing what I had always wanted to do — without knowing that it was what I had always wanted to do.”

Since then, Gross has written numerous books for children, specializing in nonfiction and re-tellings of traditional tales. She welcomes questions and comments from children, and often uses their input to make her work more thorough. When they are not working, Gross and her husband enjoy cooking, gardening, and vacationing in Vermont, where they have a tiny A-frame house in the woods.

Reviews

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is picture book retelling of The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen.

Two scammers convince a vain and silly emperor to buy a magical suit of clothing that people who are stupid and who are bad at their jobs cannot see. Everyone, including the emperor, refuses to admit that they can’t see the clothes that, in fact, do not exist and pretends to see them. This culminates in the emperor walking naked in a parade through the city during which a child points out that he has no clothes, and the emperor realizes that he has been duped.

This is my favorite retelling. The language is simple, and the story is uncomplicated.

[Melinda Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Emperor loved new clothes. He spent lots of money buying new clothing. One day, two men came to the Emperor and said they would weave him a beautiful new suit to wear. They asked for a bunch of money and lots of thread to weave the suit of clothes. They said the clothes would be fantastic and so light he wouldn't even know he was wearing them; but the men were liars. At last came the day for the Emperor to wear his new suit in a parade before all the people. Everyone pretended they saw the fancy suit, except a small child, who saw a naked Emperor. Would he be able to convince the others? Sometimes children are wiser than us all.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Re-telling of the familiar Hans Christian Anderson tale. Simple, cute illustrations.

[Jo Miller]

Classic book that should be read more than once. Teaching the kids to not go along with everything and to be themselves. I like the message and it is kinda funny.