Joan Vinge, Hans Christian Andersen, & International Children's Book Day

Today, Love All Books celebrates the birthdays of Hugo Award winning (and Nebula and John W. Campbell Award nominated) science fiction author Joan Vinge and popular fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen (HCA).

Joan Vinge's books are very good reading, and should be considered "highly recommended" if you like SF.

Her novel The Snow Queen is particularly good and—in light of today's other birthday—it is (to me, at least) particularly interesting: it is based on the HCA fairy tale of the same name!

(It isn't the only HCA story she's adapted, either; her short story "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is also by a story of his of the same name. One has to wonder if she knows they share a birthday!)

Another interesting bit about HCA's birthday: it is the day that International Children's Book Day is celebrated!