Customer Reviews

Cinderellis and the Glass Hill (Princess Tales)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I would have given Cinderellis and the Glass Hill 10 stars if I could! IT IS WONDERFUL! In my opinion it's is even better than Ella Enchanted! It is a great book with a terrific sense of humor! Cinderellis and the Glass Hill is hillarious (especially when first read)!This book is Gail Carson Levine's best book yet! (and thats saying something because she writes REALLY good books). I (in case you havn't noticed) highly recomend this book.

Levine has handily won the crowning title of story teller extraordinare! She just gets better and better with each tale she twists as only she can (and probably should). Not the first to make Cinderella a man (remember Jerry Lewis as Cinderfella?), she winningly combines that beloved fairy tale with the tale of the glass mountain for a completely new fable that is sure to win the hearts of romantics (and nutcases) everywhere. If you haven't read the other Princess Tales (and everything else this amazing writer puts out), travel post haste...and grab them while you still can!

Gail Levine seems to be on a one-writer crusade to instill some new millenium sensibilities into well-loved fairy tales. Having a male protagonist is not that only deviation from tradition Levine makes in this little book. The "bad" characters are dim and ignorant more than they are evil and malicious. The "good" characters, for the most part, demonstrate some of the more elevated human traits (patience, intelligence, wit, and optimism.) Moreover, Levine neatly dodges becoming distractingly "polically correct." The writing is excellent - simple yet descriptive. Levine uses humor to temper the "moral of the story" and creates a well-rounded tale while leaving enough room for the imagination to take over. If you want, for yourself or for your children, the magic of fairy tales without the out-of-date stereotypes, Levine's Princess Tales series is an excellent place to start. I also HIGHLY recommend anything by Robin McKinley.

I must agree with Anthony Burgarino that Cinderellis and the Glass Hill does not compare with Ella Enchanted--IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE COMPARED WITH IT! It should be compared with the other three Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine. While all were lovely, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill was THE BEST! They are not supposed to have depth--they are supposed to be fun (and they are incredible when read aloud!). My daughters would love to have Gail Carson Levine write more fairy tails like Ella Enchanted that let you get to know the characters better, but for now we can be happy with wonderful short hillarious stories!

Now, this book was obviously not as deep as Ella Enchanted, because Ella, was a novel. This is a shorter book, as part of a series...now I loved this book quite a lot, and suggested it to a lot of people to read. I thought it was quite entertaining, and enjoyable. And I strongly suggest it.

Easily the best of this series, but not so good nonetheless. I am a big 'Ella Enchanted' fan, and as such expect more of Levine. The characters in this retelling of Cinderella are more likeable and the plot follows better. But nonethless, the book comes across as very frivolous, even for its target audience. I applaud Levine for giving readers a more active heroine (and hero). This is a good one to read once, or to read to children.

I love the Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine. Cinderellis was a sweet, light version of Cinderella that was funny and touching at the same time. Cinderellis is a clever inventor who is ignored by his two brothers. Marigold is a princess whose father is always off on quests for one thing or another. When it is time for Marigold to marry, though, her father is prevented from going on a quest for the perfect husband. So, he contructs a very slippery glass hill that Marigold will sit on. The man who can climb the hill will be Marigold's bride. The romantic parts are sweet and innocent and hilariously funny at the same time. Levine does a marvelous job of weaving humor into fairy tales.

Be warned: "Cinderellis" is something of a misnomer here for those expecting pure and classic Cinderella. Instead, Ms. Levine is playing with a popular fairy tale concept of the spurned sibling of three (which still applies to Cinderella, but is not her status alone). This is the story of the Glass Hill which Disney has yet to destroy.

One thing I liked about this was the alternating points of view between the sweet young princess and the spunky lad thinking she's a dairy maid.

This is a clever and funny stories that gets better as it goes along and with subsequent readings.

Another testament of Ms. Levine's fairy tale power.

I really liked the twist in this book because, I think, there are too many Cinderella stories now days. To give the book a twist made it more interesting, not to mention more fun, to read. You couldn't predict as much. Even more than the twist was the humor. When Cinderellis couldn't take his helmet off to know what the princess was saying I laughed really hard. The only thing I didn't like about this book was how short it was. Levine could have gone on another ten chapters, yet she didn't.

Cinderellis is another one of Gail Carson Levine's magical fairy-tale master pieces, and every bit of this story is enjoyable.
In a twist of the two tales of "The Golden Goose" and "Cinderella" (with a few others swirlled in also!); Cinderellis is a wonderful story of a young boy named Ellis who is considered a dunce in his family because instead of making up words, like his two elder brothers, he likes to tell jokes and think-up powders to make things grow, float, and things like that.
While Ellis is being re-named 'Cinderellis' by his brother's in hope to be friends, a young princess named Marigold is feeling a bit lonely herself. Her father, King Hurumph, travels to find rare and interesting things to put into the castle museum and to entertain his daughter, but always ends up finding the excat oppisite of what he wanted to find! Marigold, though, only wants her father just to be there and spend time with her, but he keeps on insisting that he will find her something-or-another to make her happy. For now, Marigold must confine to be friends with her kitten instead...

Read this book and you'll find out how three horses, a glass hill, golden apples and sticking powder will rid them of their loneliness once and for all!