Customer Reviews

Cinderella (As If You Didn't Already Know the Story)

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This retelling of the Cinderella story offers the reader the traditional story, though slightly updated. Cinderella shares her worries and concerns about her life in letters to her deceased mother. Her father has remarried (but does not die) and her new stepmother and stepsisters are just as unpleasant as in the traditional story. Cinderella's letters to her mother are heartfelt with amusing edits so we know what she is really thinking. The silhouette cutout illustrations added a touch of whimsey and quirkiness to the story that I enjoyed.

The book was a pleasant read and offers young people the comfort of an enjoyable, familiar and very readable story.

"Cinderella" is one of the most popular of fairy stories. It has been not only translated into about every language, it has also been modified for our diverse cultures and times. Barbara Ensor's CINDERELLA is a fun little version that is decidedly for contemporary readers. In this version Cinderella tells her story through a series of letters to her dead mother. The letters are sweet, poignant and often funny as she unburdens her heart. When she writes the letter telling of her father's remarriage, she ends with:

P.P.S. Don't worry about writing back, I don't expect miracles or anything. (We don't believe in them,) or do we?

Of course, this is a story that abounds with miracles. There are fairy godmothers, magic slippers, pumpkins turning into carriages, and all the usual magic of the traditional fairy tale. With several clever twists, however, Cinderella falls in love with a prince who is terribly spoiled and is put out when his parents aren't as concerned about finding the girl who fits the shoe and instead choose to go on a golf outing. The stepsisters are as conceited as ever, but not really as ugly as we have been led to believe:

The truth is, they were nice enough to look at, maybe not as pretty as you or Cinderella, but certainly not ugly. All right, some of what they said was ugly, yes, I agree...

So this is the book that lets us know what actually happens to everyone. Did they really just live "happily ever after?" There are some surprises here. The nasty stepsisters have to move out so Cinderella and the prince can provide a sanctuary for wild animals. Cinderella's father and stepmother are given royal dispensation and allowed to stay in the castle (provided the stepmother works double shifts on the cleaning staff). Most importantly, Cinderella and the prince learn a great deal about each other: "As the love between them grew, they began to trust themselves, even the dark scary places." No one pushes little Cinderella around anymore. So finally there is peace in the kingdom as Cinderella insists that big bombs just don't interest her in the least.

The artwork is made up of creatively rendered silhouette cutouts. Cinderella's letters to her mother are handwritten, smudged with ink and scratched out words. This book could easily translate into an animated Shrek-like film that would delight people of all ages. Don't miss this very original retelling of a beloved classic.

--- Reviewed by Sally Tibbetts (stibbetts@maine207west.k12.il.us)

The book expresses all of Cinderella's feelings, unlike the Disney version. When Cinderella writes a note it's sort of sloppy handwriting - but at the end it's elegant and beautiful. If I could, since it is summer vacation right now, I would tell all of my friends that it is the best book in the world.

By Helena

I bought this book as a read aloud for my six year old and yes, she loved it. The illustrations and hand written notes from Cinderella to her dead mother added a degree of postmodern hilarity perfect for a smart nine to twelve year old and for me as well. This book makes a great gift.

Reading as an adult this version of the Cinderella fable is rewarding in a number of ways. Its exploration of Cinderella's feelings is new and intriguing. The illustrations and writing by Ms. Ensor are invariably right on, always funny, sometimes hilarious. This is reading as pure pleasure!

Grandmother alert! This is the perfect book to give to your [...]granddaughter; and if you're really smart, you'll throw in a sheaf of black paper and a pair of sharpened scissors.

The tale of Cinderella has been retold many times (my own version, written for adults, is called The Fool's Path: A Tale from the Lothemian Legacy) but, surely, never before has a retelling been written that will appeal to modern pre-teens as much this one. Ensor's Cinderella is a pony-tailed heroine who dwells in a timeless world filled with castles and wallpaper, patent leather shoes and armor, pageantry, peasantry, and golf. The prince may be charming, but not as charming as the silhouettes that illuminate the pages, adding texture and depth to the story. What a delight!

In this watershed of a literary debut, Ensor manages to craft a fun and corky account of a classic tale.

Touted as an original take on the classic tale, Barbara Ensor's version of Cinderalla is hardly a standout. The basic story is the same, and little is added to the events of the tale. Original additions include silly letters Cinderella writes to her deceased mother and silhouette illustrations. The illustrations are ugly and unimpressive.

The author is really trying for a spunky, funny vibe, but for me everything just came across as irritating. Cinderella is hard to relate to, or care about, or see as a role model in any way. While the author may have been trying to take a cardboard fairy tale character and breathe life into her through the silly letters or "quirky" traits, all she succeeded in doing was creating a Cinderella who is just as two-dimensional as the original, but more annoying. The cover also boasts that this is a story for smart girls, though I don't see why. Smart girls are better off finding authors like Margaret Gray if they're looking for humorous fairy tale retellings with admirable characters (The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool). As for Ensor, I do not recommend this retelling.