CINDERS

Brett adds to the wide variety of interpretations of the beloved fairy tale with this charming retelling featuring a flock of elegantly attired fowl in an 18th-century Russian setting.

Little Cinders is a small, meek hen with muted gray feathers and a shy demeanor. She lives in a fancy chicken house with onion-domed towers, shown in cutaway views with decorated borders and insets in Brett’s distinctive style. The flock is dominated by “old biddy” Largessa and her two large-and-in-charge daughters, Pecky and Bossy, who treat Cinders as their servant. The traditional plot of the fairy tale unfolds as Cinders is left behind on the night of the “feathered fantasy” at the Ice Palace. When the other chickens depart in fine dresses and embroidered waistcoats, a white Silkie hen appears in the role of fairy godmother, outfitting Cinders in a dazzling ball gown decorated with pearls, pink ribbons and lace. The transformed Cinders arrives at the ball in time to win the heart of Prince Cockerel, a handsome rooster with shiny green tail feathers. The visual heart of the story is a double gatefold spread of the ball, which opens to reveal the cast of elegant chickens, dancing at the Ice Palace in all their finery. A captivating addition to the “Cinderella” canon. (Picture book. 4-8)