Customer Reviews

James Marshall's Cinderella

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This version of the Cinderella story is similar to the Perrault version in that when Cinderella marries the prince, she takes her family to the castle with her and finds lords to marry each of her step-sisters. However, this retelling leaves Cinderella's father alive and well. He is visible in the background of the last illustration reading a book.

The story is retold rather plainly with few descriptive details. The heart of the story is in the delightfully silly illustrations. The absurdly large pile of dirty dishes, the unbelievable tackiness of the step-sisters' clothing, the grins on the faces of the rat-coachman and the lizard-footmen, and the one-armed Roman soldier-like statue are just some of the amusing details in James Marshall's illustrations.

The animals in the story are used to great effect. Cinderella and her father have two cats who are usually depicted as sleeping. When Cinderella's father brings the new family members home Cinderella's face is calm. The cats, on the other hand, reflect what most people would feel after being told three such horrid-looking individuals were moving in: wide apprehensive eyes. One cat peeks suspiciously around Cinderella's dress at the newcomers. The other cat looks like he's trying to hide behind the arm of the couch. When the fairy godmother arrives Cinderella looks surprised, but her expression is nothing compared to the cat sitting behind her. The cat stares with astonishment out of the illustration at the reader, as if to ask, "Can you believe this?"

While this version of Cinderella may not be the most beautiful, it is certainly entertaining and well worth reading.

Awesome book with a fun and catchy "twist". I used this in my classroom and my students loved it. Very cute!

The modern language and entertaining pictures make this fun for me as well as my grandchildren.

The fairy tale of Cinderella in this book is almost the same retelling as in Marcia Brown's awesome 1950's "Cinderella", but the different illustrations mean that BOTH of them are worth having.

James Marshall has a cartoony style of illustrating that really gets the job done. He illustrated the "Miss Nelson is Missing" series of books, so his style is very familiar. I think the funniest thing about the illustrations is the pets on every page -- they are usually communicating directly with the reader. Look for the Fairy Godmother's feet on the last page!

I was expecting this book to be as funny as his Rats on the Roof but it wasn't. If you teach grades 2-4, you should read Rats on the Roof aloud to your class - I did for many years and laughed right along with them. This book, however, was more like a retelling rather than originally funny, and maybe that was the author's purpose, which is fine, and there are uses for this kind of book in the classroom, perhaps to inspire children to author their own retellings. ( I taught 3rd grade for 41 years)

Like other books by James Marshall, this is also a must have.
The story, as retold, is very humorous.