Cinderella [Hardcover]

Max Eilenberg (Author), Niamh Sharkey (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Aspiring princesses will be entralled by this lively retelling of the classic rags-to-riches story, brightened by playful, quirky illustrations.

Cinderella's evil stepmother makes her cook and clean and dust and sweep until her arms ache and her head spins. But with a tap, tap and a WHOOSH of her fairy godmother's wand, the kind, mistreated beauty becomes a shimmering vision worthy of a prince. In a wry, conversational tone, the narrative sends Cinderella off to the ball three times — each time lovelier than the last — breathing witty new life into this oft-told, favorite fairy tale.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—To wishful girls dreaming of being a princess, Cinderella offers another retelling of the tried-and-true classic. The storytelling is straightforward and the plot follows the traditional pattern, with Cinderella attending three balls before the climax. However, Eilenberg interjects his own asides. For example, after the stepsisters purchase expensive outfits for the event, he slyly notes, "They thought they looked beautiful! (In fact, they looked frightful.)" More humor can be found in the eccentric oil illustrations. The two oddly shaped stepsisters cramming their toes into the tiny slipper provide great comic relief. However, the listless Cinderella and her prince are not as animated as the rest of the characters. This book makes a good read-aloud, but it does not give as rich an experience as titles such as Paul Fleischman's Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal (Holt, 2007).—Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, Kearns Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Eilenberg’s retelling of this favorite and familiar tale hews close to Perrault (three balls instead of one) with a dash of storytelling moxie. The text is quick and unsentimental, with little asides: “The stepsisters spent the whole week shopping. They bought expensive outfits, an enormous amount of jewelry and some very large hats. They thought they looked beautiful! (In fact, they looked frightful.)” The snappy text helps offset the overwhelmingly pink-and-blue palette and the cutsie flourishes of hearts, stars, and crowns scattered throughout. Sharkey’s cartoon-style characterizations have naive panache, and though Cinderella herself is largely unimpressive, once dressed in her ball gowns she looks just like a little girl’s drawing of a princess: high hair, sparkly crown, and big poofy dress. The horses, mice, and lizards, even a puff of magical smoke, have goofy personality, and many of the full-page and full-spread illustrations would work well with a group. Grades K-3. --Negro Janice Del

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763638560
• ISBN-13: 978-0763638566
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.4 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,309,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Contender for the Cinderella Crown, April 25, 2009

By 

K. Coombs (Utah, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cinderella (Hardcover)

I'll admit my first impulse was to say, "Not another Cinderella!" But then I read this new version by Max Eilenberg and said, "Oh. This is a goody!"

One of the things I like best about this version is that the language is (a) at an easier-to-read level than usual and (b) slightly contemporary. If you've read any of the typical picture book fairy tales that are beautifully illustrated (as opposed to the cheap commercial versions), you'll find that they're written at a third or fourth grade level, with rather fine print. They're pretty much intended to be read-alouds. In contrast, this Cinderella's wording is at about a low second grade level, and the font's a friendlier size, with fewer words on a page.

The story telling is also a lot of fun. For example, we learn that Cinderella's stepmother "was snobbish, mean, and foul-tempered. Ooh, she was horrid! And she was especially cruel to the girl, whose beauty made her own two daughters look positively hideous. The stepmother couldn't stand this." Then we get things like some terrific sound effects when the fairy godmother makes her magic: "Tap tap WHOOSH! There stood a magnificent golden carriage." When the rats and lizards are transformed, it's "KAPOUFF!" and "KAPAFF!"

Eilenberg also goes with a version of the story that includes a ball every night for three nights running, drawing out the suspense and allowing for three different sets of gowns and shoes. Illustrator Niamh Sharkey's art is upbeat and clever, but didn't entrance me quite as much as the text did.

Probably the nicest thing about the book is that Cinderella's father, who stays alive but is mostly no help to her, finally steps in and sticks up for her at the end of the book. Hooray!

I can honestly say that this is the perfect Cinderella for today's kids, especially those little girls in the everything-must-be-pink princess stage. But it's just rowdy enough to appeal to little tomboys, too!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a VERY Sweet Cinderella for younger readers, April 14, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cinderella (Hardcover)

Young listeners will love when you read this book out loud to them, complete with all the sound effects. The illustrations and the text are very sweet and non-scary, perfect for little listeners. There are THREE balls for Cinderella in this book, each with increasingly glamorous outfits, and on the last one, she loses the glass slipper.

In the end, the Dad steps in to stick up for his daughter. Yay!