Customer Reviews

Hilary Knight's Cinderella

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We've all heard the Cinderella story many, many times...the mean stepmother, the ugly stepsisters, a kind fairy godmother who works her magic so that Cinderella can go to the ball, and of course, the handsome prince. Hilary Knight has taken this old fairy tale and given it a gentler, fresh and engaging new life. His simple and easy to read text is delightfully entertaining. But it's Mr Knight's marvelous illustrations that really make this picture book stand out. His expressive artwork, in warm and lovely subdued tones, is enchanting and filled with charming and humorous detail. Together, word and art transport children to a magical once-upon-a-time place. Perfect for youngsters 4 and older, Hilary Knight's Cinderella is a wonderful read aloud story the entire family can share, and is sure to bring happily-ever-after dreams to all your little ones.

In addition to the charming retelling, this Cinderella is visually wonderful. I could (and often did) spend hours just enjoying the lovely art-nouveau-meets-regency-style pictures!

I believe I was about 5 years old or so when I got this book. I treasured this book as a child when my mother gave this to me. I was fascinated by the beautiful illustrations, particularly the very pointy shoes and big poofy sleeves on all the women! The story is the same classic as always, so of course there's nothing wrong there. This is such a gorgeous book though when you compare it to the typical old Disney look. The illustrations in this version truly make this book. I wish I knew what happend to my original copy. I can't wait to get my hands on this again for both myself, nieces, and maybe a future daughter of my own!

being an amateur artist,i was mostly interested in the drawings and i was delighted to see such detail on every page. i think the era represented is the 1820s? or 1830s?. a lot of thought went into this and i praise the artist! very good work. enjoy.

Hilary Knight's beautiful and warm drawings are the feature here, bringing the timeless story of Cinderella to life. The gorgeous drawings pair with a simplified story line which will appeal to young picturebook audiences.

Everybody is familiar with the fairy tale "Cinderella", and there are literally dozens upon dozens of different editions out there. What attracted me to this particular version was the fact it was written and illustrated by Hilary Knight---who I recognized as the illustrator of the "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" books by Betty McDonald. Many things make this book stand out: first of all our prince is not the typical tall, dark and handsome type but rather short, round and freckle-faced and our fairy godmother is a little blue sprite. The drawings are very lovely and my favorite picture is the one where Cinderella stares longingly at the invitation to the royal ball on the table while in the background her wicked stepsisters fight over clothing. I especially like the way Mr. Knight makes the stepsisters look spoiled and mean, but at the same time rather comical---their facial expressions are great! However, my one criticism of the book is that the ending is too simplified and a bit unrealistic, which is why I rated it three stars.

This is the sweetest Cinderella we have read. It has cheerful, pretty illustrations in a narrow color palette (blues and browns), making make-believe more evident.

The stepmother and stepsisters are forgiven in this book - this is perfect for reading aloud even to very young children.

...and I'm something of a connoisseur. ;)
As a small child, it was comforting to have a Cinderella option who had brown hair like me. (This was before I discovered the legion of multicultural Cinderellas, which today can give almost every child a Cinderella to relate to.) The illustrations are sweet and beautiful, and seem more heartfelt than many other Cinderellas I've seen. Knight avoids the tendency of many authors to make the story "funny" or "modern," and instead simply infuses it with the simple charm it possesses naturally.

Thank you! My book arrived exactly as described and very quickly. I would definitely do business with this seller again. I have loved this book since I was a child and I'm happy to have it in my library again. Thank you for making that possible.

There are more Cinderella books out there than you can shake a stick at. If you wanted to, you could buy nothing for your child BUT Cinderella, and you'd still never make a dent in the pile.

This version doesn't have the more flowery language or intricate illustrations of some versions. It doesn't take place in some sort of exotic or unusual setting. There isn't a new take on it, nor is it some variation you've seldom heard of (actually, it puts me in mind of nothing so much as the Disney version!)

What you have is sweet and charming illustrations (and Cinderella looks refreshingly down-to-earth with brown hair falling out of a bun!) and simple language. It's not new or different or fancy... and sometimes, that's what you want.