~ borrowed from the Library

CINDERELLA has, of course, been done a gazillion times, and there is nothing new here that is radical. I will say though that the artwork by Valerie Sokolava is charming and that the author, Deanna McFadden's retelling is very well done in that it touches all the bases and still manages to be a short, satisfying read.

To be more particular, and to contradict myself a bit, McFadden does not say that the step-sisters are ugly. Instead she writes (and this will give you some sample text to see and judge):

The woman and her very selfish
daughters were cruel, and the
girl's father was no longer there
to protect her.

They took her pretty clothes for
themselves, made her do all the
chores, and forced her to sleep by
the fire. The cinders from the fire
made he dusty and dirty. So they
called her Cinderella.

So no name calling here. Just ugly actions.

I like the small size of this little hardback book. I remember liking small books when I was young, and super large ones as well. A collection of SILVER PENNEY books would make a cute addition the home shelves. The only downside of CINDERELLA is that it's not also a practice reader. ( )