A slight twist on the classic tale which is nicely executed. It's very short, though. I feel like more could have been added to it. ( )

Matchless is a “reillumination” of Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Match Girl. This book was originally commissioned by NPR and read by Mr. Maguire on "All Things Considered" on Christmas day 2008.

The story is told in four parts. In it we meet Frederik. Frederik and his mother live in a fishing village. They are poor - have very little food and only one match to help keep them warm. His mother is the queen's seamstress and is constantly being called to rescue the queen from her "iron foot" (or so his mother calls it, since she constantly steps on the hems of her dresses).

Frederik has a vivid imagination and has found a way to entertain himself (while his mother is away) by making a small town out of cardboard boxes, broken bowls and even thread-less spools. This is his way of escaping the bleak reality of his life.

One night while prowling the town for more items for his little town, his path crosses that of the little match girl. If you've read Hans Christian Andersen's tale then you know how that part of the story ends, but Mr. Maguire leads Frederik and you, as the reader, down a path that will have you believing in miracles, the permanence of spirit, and the continuity that links the living and the dead.

Mr. Maguire did a fabulous job intertwining the story of The Little Match Girl (which he leaves mostly intact, except for some very minor details) and that of Frederik. The illustrations are all drawn by him - which alone were a treat. This very short (only 112 pages) story - brings the heartbreaking and desperate tale of The Little Match Girl and suffuses it with a bit of magic, yearning and warmth that will leave you feeling hopeful. This one should be read out loud and savored and, although a bit on the tragic side, it has a timeless feel to it.

I wouldn't say I recommend it to everyone, but for fans of Gregory Maguire, Hans Christian Andersen, or those who like fairytale remakes, this is one you should pick up. ( )

Wonderfully sad re-telling of the Little Match girl. One of my favorite stories growing up. ( )

'Matchless' is a children's story built around the old story 'The Little Match Girl', but like many of the old stories, there is a message. The old story was always a sad one, but meant perhaps to communicate that death has something good afterwards. In years past it was a common thing for children to die of disease, and a story like 'The Little Match Girl' might help other little children understand and not grieve so over a loss.

Gregory Maguire's story adds to the original, and carries the same message a little further. Not only are the dead gone to a better place, but the living may yet find happiness, and the dead are not so far away.

The story is meant to be read aloud, and I can well imagine reading it to my children a few nights before Christmas. The sadness of the original is somehow muted in this telling from what I remember from years ago, and the story ends on a happy note. It would be an excellent story in that context. There is an illustration for nearly every short page of text. It would take no more than a half-hour to read aloud.

The book should not be bought with expectations of a fairy tale treatment along the lines of some of Maguire's other books. The second chapter of the book is precisely the original story with the slightest of changes, and Maguire extended the story by adding first, third, and fourth chapters. His goal was not to change the message or deliver his own message, as with other of his novels, but to retain the simplicity and beauty of the original story, and simply add to its scope, possibly augmenting the message but keeping its spirit precisely intact. He succeeded well. ( )

A nice "illumination" of the original, tho' not nearly so rich as Maguire's usual fairy tale and fantasy elaborations. The Little Match Girl is, of course, only a short story but still this has the feel of a hasty holiday knockoff. ( )