Cinderella

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This was by far my least favorite version. Normally I like Edwards’ alliterative stories (where many words begin with the same letter), but this letter d-themed book fell short. I really didn’t care for this modern New York City version, but my Three and Five requested it often. My three-year-old asked me to read him this silly version many times. Prince Cinders is a “small, spotty, scruffy, and skinny” prince with three big hair brothers.

Cinderella Stories (127 books) - Goodreads

This is just an all-around great version that kids will love (as did my youngest three kids, ages 3, 5, and 7). Instead of the heroine being tiny and beautiful, Rrrrella is a big, smelly Bigfoot. She wins the prince’s heart when she’s the only Bigfoot strong enough to spin his log and dump him into the water. When she runs away, the prince is heartbroken. “Where my stinking beauty go?” This version features Settareh, a beautiful young woman who catches the attention of the prince at the No Ruz festival. The story is well told, and illustrations are so beautiful that they almost look like photographs. The tale itself is very different from other versions; Settareh uses magic from a tiny glass bottle, and when her stepsisters get their hands on it they turn her into a turtledove. The ending was a bit weird to me, but I love the clever rhyming text, the integrated math concepts, and the delightful illustrations. Overall I found the story quite strange, and this wasn’t my favorite. But you may feel differently. Older listeners will catch the humor better than preschoolers, and this book would be excellent for a study on point of view.

Rose meets a rich feller (who “made his fortune in sowbellies and grits”) when he hosts a square dance. My daughter requested this one more than I’d have thought, I suspect because of Will Hillenbrand’s beautiful illustrations. Adelita is a young Mexican woman who lives with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters. The bright spot in her life is Esperanza, the kind old woman who had cared for her father when he was a baby. Esperanza helps Adelita reunite with a young man she had known as a child, and the two (of course) marry and live happily ever after. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. By signing up you agree to our terms of use The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo (Author) and Robert Florczak (Illustrator) True to the culture of the time, Maha marries Tariq without ever having met him (his mother decides whom he will marry).

Cinderella Themed Romance Novels (170 books) - Goodreads Cinderella Themed Romance Novels (170 books) - Goodreads

This is a fantastic book for teaching point of view. When you read one side of the book, you read the familiar tale. Flip it upside down and start from the other side, and you have a completely different story! In the Untold Story, Cinderella is a pretty but excessively imaginative girl who lives with her kind father, stepmother and stepsisters. In the end, she marries the prince’s cousin, who also likes to tell stories that aren’t true. As it turns out, no one else’s foot is big enough to fit Rrrrella’s left-behind wooden clog, and the prince and his bride live happily ever after. I grew up watching Disney’s Cinderella on repeat. I’m sure I’ve seen it so many times it’s created permanent neural pathways in my brain and deep inroads into my psyche. Little did I know about all the other Cinderella stories around the world. Who knew there was more than Disney’s version? Well, maybe smart people knew it was based on Charles Perrault’s telling in 1697. But did you know he was just regurgitating a story that has been told around the world for eons? In this middle eastern tale, beautiful Maha works day and night for her cruel stepmother and stepsister. When Maha spares a little red fish from becoming the family’s dinner, it promises to help her whenever she needs it.

Cinderella marries the handsome, proud, and vain Prince Randolph. Cinder Edna marries his plain, clever, and kind brother Rupert. Can you guess who lives happily ever after? The pictures in this book are a little weird (dogs dressed in old European clothing, complete with wigs, and walking on two feet). But my daughter enjoyed the humor in the illustrations, and the story is well-told without being too wordy.