A modern take on the Cinderella story, with kind and loving sisters replacing the mean stepsisters.
A little, blonde, white girl named Charlotte has only hand-me-down dresses from her older sisters until they work together to create an unusual, new dress for her as a surprise.
Charlotte is the youngest of six daughters in the Bartlett-Kruger family, which lives in an elegant mansion with a white butler, uniformed, white maids, and a pet peacock. Despite the family’s obvious wealth, little Charlotte seems to be the Cinderella of the family as far as her clothing and possessions are concerned. She mends her sisters’ castoff dolls and stuffed animals and wears only one old dress with a patch and boots that need resoling. When the parents decide to have a fancy party, Charlotte is sad because her only choices of dresses are tired and worn outfits offered by her older sisters. After Charlotte cries herself to sleep, her sisters work with the stuffed animals and dolls to combine bits of the dresses with household items. Together they create a lovely ball gown fit for a princess, “made not only of hand-me-down garments, but with sisterly love.” Intricately detailed illustrations impart a fairy-tale flavor to the story, incorporating sumptuous details of the family mansion and the sisters’ many costumes. Though the sisters are totally wrapped up in their wardrobe choices and several elements of the plot require the willing suspension of disbelief, young readers who like fashion design and fairy tales will enjoy Charlotte’s transformation into the budding belle of the ball.
A modern take on the Cinderella story, with kind and loving sisters replacing the mean stepsisters. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-553-52095-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-2386-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999
SEEN & HEARD
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