Customer Reviews

Prince cinders (sandcastle)

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4 star:		(6)
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In this Cinderella story, Cinderella goes by the name of Prince Cinders. He looks like the "before" picture in an ad for a mail order body-building course, while his big and hairy older brothers look like the "after" picture. The older brothers party all night at the Palace Disco with their princess girlfriends, while Prince Cinders cleans up their beer cans, cigarette butts, and macho magazines.

One night, while Prince Cinders is doing a load of dirty socks, a fairy drops down the chimney. She tries to make all his wishes come true. She changes a crumpled beer can into a red sports car, a toy red sports car, that is. "That can't be right," the fairy muses. She gives him a new suit to wear to the Palace Disco -- a swim suit. Finally, she makes him big and hairy, like his brothers, sort of. Now he's a big hairy ape wearing a swimsuit!

The fairy is pretty sure the spell will wear off by midnight. In the meantime, Prince Cinders admires himself in the mirror -- he sees a dashing prince in an Armani suit -- and hops on (not in) the little red sports car to check out the Palace Disco. He's so big that he can't fit in the door. He wisely decides to take the bus home, and bumps into pretty Princess Lovelypenny. "Luckily, midnight struck and Prince Cinders changed back into himself. The princess thought he had saved her by frightening away the big hairy monkey. 'Wait!' she shouted, but Prince Cinders was too shy. He even lost his trousers in the rush!"

Soon all the princes in the land are standing around in their underwear, waiting for the chance to try on the trousers. Of course, these trousers only fit a scrawny guy like Prince Cinders. He tries them on; they fit, and Prince Cinders and Princess Lovelypenny are wed. The princess tells the fairy about the way Prince Cinders' older brothers used to treat him, and suddenly they are turned into house fairies, in charge of keeping the palace spic and span forever.

My four year old son loves this story, especially the illustration of Prince Cinders as the big hairy ape, peering through the window at the royalty dancing at the Palace Disco. My six year old daughter likes Princess Lovelypenny's leopard print outfit. Both my kids think being doomed to clean the palace forever is a fate worse than death, and from the expressions on the faces of the house fairies, Prince Cinders's brothers would probably agree.

This is one of the most charming and funny modern rewrites of a fairy tale IÕve ever read. In this version, the poor over-worked kid with the wicked stepsiblings is a boy, Prince Cinders. Just like Cinderella, he does all the dirty work around the house, while his three big, handsome (well, they think they are anyway) brothers go out dancing and carousing. Also like Cinderella, Cinders has a fairy godmother. Unfortunately, his fairy seems to lack any qualifications for the job, and in trying to turn him into a big, hairy, hypermasculine hunk like his brothers, she messes up and turns him into ape. I wonÕt go into all the details, but after he loses his pants (no glass slipper here), a clever and beautiful princess chooses him over the big, hairy hunks.

The gender switch is clever, and food for thought. But this book works because itÕs just a terrific story with a central character whoÕs a real charmer, and the illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny. My daughter and I both love this book.

Prince Cinders is a fantastic male version of the highly popular children's tale, "Cinderella." The plot is similar to that of "Cinderella", but the details are changed to fit a boy's desires rather than a girl's. The slippers, which play a major role in the original "Cinderella" are changed to jeans. Prince Cinders' three antagonizers are his brothers rather than sisters. The brothers of the prince are all hairy males who represent what the prince wants to be. The chariot, which is the means that Cinderella uses to magically get to the ball, is changed to a sports car, and the ball is actually changed to a disco party. The story is very much orientated to a child of the 90's. At the end of the story the three brothers turn into house fairies to clean the prince's home for ever. The men are now the ones cleaning the house and doing domestic chores, rather than the woman. This is another fairly modern concept found in Prince Cinders. Readers will feel familiar with some of the events that happen in the story and possibly feel like the same thing could happen to them. Prince Cinders motivates the readers' imagination and allows them to feel like they are actually in the story themselves. The book carries a strong message but gets the point across in a humorous way. The author shows young readers that boys can be self-conscience and intimidated just as girls can. Prince Cinders delivers a serious message but in a way that is fun for young children. The illustrations (by Babette Cole) are excellent and funny. He's done them in a way to make the pictures more appealing to boys: the characters are not beautiful but rather comical and laughable. I would definitely recommend Prince Cinders to children of all ages. Prince Cinders seems to have the potential to be a future classic.

Prince Cinders, a children's book written by Babette Cole, is a very charming spoof of "Cinderella." It is the story of a boy, Prince Cinders, who is forced to be a slave for his three older, hairy brothers. The illustrations fit the story perfectly. When the fairy accidentally turns "Prince Cinders" into a big, scary, ape the illustrations showed it. And when he looked into the mirror and thought that he looked like a prince dressed in a tux, the illustrations showed that too. I don't think that I could have ever imagined the absurd things that the story conveys had the author not drawn them this way. The illustrations are delightful and colorful. They made it so that I could really identify with "Prince Cinders." The best thing about this story is that even though the "dirty fairy" got all of the spells wrong, things work out for Prince Cinders in the end. Not only are the brothers punished for what they have done to their brother, but the punishments also fit the crimes.

This is a cute reversal of the Cinderella tale, but it could be more skillfully done. The gender reversal doesn't quite work. I much prefer Ellen Jackson's CINDER EDNA, where the spunky heroine tackles life without the help of a fairy godmother.

Prince cinders is a laugh out loud book that should be shared with kids of all ages. Prince Cinders is a clumsy, unsure-of-himself kind of guy who is bullied by his macho brothers. However things start to turn around when Prince Cinders looses his trousers and meets a Princess. The author does a great job of turning an all too common tale into one that is once again entertaining.

While the protagonist of Babette Cole's story may already be a prince, he still leads a Cinderella-like life in Prince Cinders. The prince's mean older brothers boss him around until one day, a confused fairy tumbles into his life. After being accidentally transformed into a gorilla and attempting to attend the "Rock'n Royal Bash," Prince Cinders finds himself returned to his former shape and face-to-face with an adoring Princess Lovelypenny. In his hurry to escape, he leaves behind his trousers, which the princess uses to identify Prince Cinders, glass-slipper style.

Cole's clever twist on this common fairytale is notable for several reasons. From the story's many wonderful qualities, the quirky and bright illustrations emerge as the book's best feature. The simple cartoon style drawings are attractive and fun. Prince Cinders is a gangly, though loveable fellow, and the artwork does nothing but make the reader love him more. The brilliant colors and composition choice make this storybook shine. The simply written text is no less clever for its simplicity; the witty mishaps the fairy causes provide much enjoyment for children of all ages. Also of interest is the alteration of the original plot. While Cole mimics some elements of the typical Cinderella story, many additions create a fun tale. Prince Cinders is an adorable book, certainly meriting inclusion into any children's library.

There are two views I could use in reviewing "Prince Cinders," a modern version of Cinderella. The reader shall choose.

View 1: The politically correct version of gender role reversal. Instead of a girl treated wickedly, the role is inhabited by a boy, or young man, who is made to clean up after his three older brothers. When he wants to go to the dance, his fairy, a young woman who doesn't have the formula to the spells down just yet, sends the young prince as a big, hairy ape. When he changes back into himself, the young princess thinks he has saved her from the big hairy ape. When he runs off, his jeans fall off and become the "glass slipper" of this story. No one can fit into them except this young prince. Marriage, blah, blah.

View 2: A far different politically correct version. Take the same scenario above, but let's add some new factors. The three wicked brothers are big and hairy; the young prince is skinny and wimpy. He is discriminated against because he is not macho. The princess finds the big hairy monkey very frightening because, like the young prince, she, too, is quite thin. She recognizes her soul mate after he turns back into the young skinny, wimpy prince. Marriage, happy ending, blah, blah.

Now, reader, which do you prefer: PC with gender role reversal, or PC with societal opinion of what constitutes male handsomeness? Please vote in the comment section. We'll send the results to Babette Cole, the author, and to Putnam & Gossett, her publisher, and perhaps to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. If anyone can stop the senseless discrimination against thin folks, it is our Jeff!

Charming spin on the Cinderella story! Might be used by teachers as a model to help children retell stories in crative ways. Little girls of 7 or so should LOVE it. And for adults? It is a fun romp back to childhood and fiary tales.

Prince Cinders is very funny.It was funny when he didnt know he was ugly when he wished to be hot.