November 1, 2017
PreS-Gr 2-This familiar story begins in a manner similar to the original: Cinderella does housekeeping all day while her stepmother and two stepsisters lounge around enjoying tea and cake. However, in Cali's twisted or fractured fairy tale, Cinderella telephones a fairy godmother to make an appointment. The green-skinned godmother provides a dress that does not look like the picture in the magazine, her carriage is in the shape of a turnip, and the vehicle is pulled by a variety of forest animals, including a moose. Cinderella's story goes downhill from there. The heroine views a poster advertising a "Girls Only" job fair, and the rushed ending implies that she does not need to wait around for a prince to rescue her from household drudgery, but that she can rely on herself to create her own happiness in life. Unfortunately, the over-the-top silliness detracts from the message, and the execution comes off feeling didactic. Detailed digital artwork would be best viewed individually. Blonde-haired Cinderella, as well as the multihued coifs of secondary characters, create humor with their cartoonlike appearance. VERDICT Children acquainted with the original probably won't ask for repeated readings of this pastel version.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 15, 2017
A feminist version of "Cinderella" to suit fans of Robert Munsch's The Paper-Bag Princess (1980).This tale begins like the traditional one, with Cinderella slaving away for her stepmother and two stepsisters. But when the day of the prince's annual ball arrives, she takes matters into her own hands and phones a fairy-godmother service she sees advertised. (Indeed, all of Cinderella's expectations and dreams are based on ads and magazine articles, a subtle message that most readers will probably miss.) But the fairy godmother who arrives with her animal helpers isn't anything like what was pictured in the ad. And the dress and slippers and turnip coach the fairy godmother conjures aren't standard either. Dashed expectations don't end there, however, as Cinderella discovers when she wins the dance contest (despite a severe wardrobe malfunction) and a solo dance with the prince, who is definitely better in glossy pages than in person. Cinderella's flight is in earnest, but it quickly becomes a flight to something rather than away: the Girls Only Job Fair gives Cinderella a new lease on life. Barbanegre's digital illustrations feature bright pastels and a sort of Addams Family sensibility. While the scene inside the job fair features diverse women of all shapes, sizes, and colors, the rest of the book is largely white save for two brown-skinned dance contestants (and the green-skinned fairy godmother!). Cinderella joins Elizabeth in advocating for girl power. (Picture book. 4-8)
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July 1, 2018
In this feminist fairy tale, Cinderella answers a fairy godmother's ad but gets an unsightly dress, beastly slippers, and a turnip coach. When Cinderella wins the prince's weird dance contest and discovers that he, too, "was much better in the magazine," she runs off to a girls-only job fair. Zany digital illustrations depict a fairy-tale realm that--like our real world--is far from picture perfect.
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)