Book excerpt: HERE’S A CONTEMPORARY retelling of Andersen’s tale, revamped and fleshed out for today’s hip tweens. As she did in Cinderella (As If You Didn’t Already Know the Tale), Ensor re-imagines this classic, adding her own inimitable humor, flair, and stylish black-and-white silhouette spot illustrations. Thumbelina is that story most of us can’t quite remember. Okay, sure, it’s about a tiny girl just the size of your thumb. But did you know that her troubles (or adventures, if you prefer) begin when she begs her mother to let her sleep outside on the porch? And that in no time she is engaged to a frog, and then a mole, and even receives a proposal from a miniature king?