CINDERELLA
adapted by Clare Scott-Mitchell & illustrated by Gordon Fitchett
Fitchett (The Twelve Princesses, p. 631) wedges himself onto the overstuffed “Cinderella” bandwagon with yet another version featuring a canine cast. Her bulldog stepsisters primp and strut off to the ball, but Cinderella, a lipstick-wearing spaniel who is chained to the wall, labors on until her fairy godmother (a goose) appears. Fitchett cleaves to the bloodless version of the standard plot line, renders his figures in balletic poses and costumes, and fumbles the one original idea here—Cinderella’s “coach” is a limo, but for some reason it still has to be pulled by horses. Buy this if you must have every single version, but in the doggy line, Diane Goode’s Cinderella (p. 282) has more child appeal, and William Wegman’s Cinderella (1993) a more sophisticated sensibility. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)