Cinderella

retold by Amy Ehlrich

illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Caldecott Award Winner

Summary

In this classic version of Cinderella, Cinderella's mother died and her father married again, but her stepmother and stepsisters were described as "proud and haughty." When she finished all her work she sat under the chimney, and was called "Cinderwench" instead of Cinderella. When news came of the ball, the sisters spoke of nothing but it, and asked Cinderella if she wanted to go. She asked them not to mock her, and they laughed, agreeing that it would surely be a sight to her a "Cinderwench" there. When her family left for the ball, Cinderella began to cry, and "Her godmother, who was a fairy, saw her tears and asked what was the matter." Cinderella shared her desire to go to the ball, and her fairy godmother transformed a pumpkin into "a fine gilded coach", mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. Cinderella's rags were transformed into a gown, and her fairy godmother told her that she had to return by midnight or everything would turn back as it was. At the ball, the king's son had been told a great princess would soon arrive, so when she came to the ball he received her immediately and they danced many times. At one point in the night Cinderella went and sat with her sisters, and "she treated them with kindness." At a quarter to twelve, Cinderella fled the palace and arrived home in time. Her sisters spoke of nothing but the ball and this mysteriously princess. The second night of the ball Cinderella returned, but upon leaving she left behind a glass slipper. A royal proclamation was made that each maiden in the kingdom would try on the glass slipper, but they could not find a woman with feet small enough to fit the slipper. When the courtier came to Cinderella's home, she was allowed to try on the slipper, and once she had it on, she put the other slipper on as well, and her fairy godmother appeared and transformed her clothes into those from the ball. Immediately her sisters "threw themselves at her feet to beg her forgiveness for all their ill treatment", and she forgave them. Cinderella was wed to the prince, and offered places in her home to her two sisters.

Discussion

This version of Cinderella, though it does not stray far from the norm, focuses much more on the relationship of the sisters with Cinderella than any other modern version I have read. Though the language is rich, the illustrations make the story, making reading the story harder. Though it is not a full bleed, the words are limited to the bottom third of the pages, with a white background, and the illustrations have the rest of the space in the story. About three full pages are in full bleed style, and allow the readers to further imagine what the life of Cinderella is like in that moment; for example, when she arrives at the ball. The problem with Cinderella with regards to diversity is that the entire story is based on a European fairytale, and the people are included. Everyone in the story is Caucasian, and though children with less money are able to relate to Cinderella's plight, it is difficult for all children to feel like Cinderella, though the fantasy of imagination has the ability to carry children off into a completely different world. I have also chosen the Korean and the Egyptian Cinderella stories, as they expand this classic tale to a different demographic.

Application

A great way to use these various Cinderellas in the classroom is to create a chart describing the differences between them. If there is a large minority in the class, a great idea would be to find a version of Cinderella that best suits that demographic. For example, in St. Louis it would be amazing to find an African American or Bosnian version of Cinderella. Then the class could explain the differences between the traditional version and the more modern and more relatable version. Rewriting Cinderella as a class to better fit the needs of the classroom is also an application option when discussing fairy-tales.