The Trumpet of the Swan vs The Ugly Duckling: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Swans, Children's fiction, Fiction
The Trumpet of the Swan
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Now available for the first time as an ebook! Illustrations in this ebook appear in vibrant full color on a full-color device and in rich black-and-white on all other devices.This beloved book by E. B. White, author of…
The Ugly Duckling
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An ugly and unloved duckling turns out to be a beautiful swan.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Ugly Duckling is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 5 for The Trumpet of the Swan.
- The Trumpet of the Swan has the widest readership — 84220 ratings behind its score.
- The Ugly Duckling runs the darker storyline; The Trumpet of the Swan stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Trumpet of the Swan | The Ugly Duckling | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (84220) | 3.7 (73) |
| Hardcover | 4.2 (11) | 5.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (2) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (107) | 4.0 (21266) |
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Reception
| The Trumpet of the Swan | The Ugly Duckling | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 84220 | 21266 |
| Editions | 43 | 122 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 27559 | 43 |
| Reading it now | 1233 | — |
| Written reviews | 3687 | 12 |
| Wikipedia attention | 3355 | 9059 |
| Pages | 320 | 30 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Trumpet of the Swan or The Ugly Duckling?
The Trumpet of the Swan has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Trumpet of the Swan 4.1/5, The Ugly Duckling 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Trumpet of the Swan or The Ugly Duckling?
The Ugly Duckling is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Ugly Duckling (30 pages, ≈ 33 min); The Trumpet of the Swan (320 pages, ≈ 5 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: The Trumpet of the Swan or The Ugly Duckling?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Trumpet of the Swan: Light; The Ugly Duckling: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
The Trumpet of the Swan: no film adaptation on record; The Ugly Duckling: 1 film adaptation.