A modern take on the Cinderella story, with kind and loving sisters replacing the mean stepsisters.
A little, blonde, white girl named Charlotte has only hand-me-down dresses from her older sisters until they work together to create an unusual, new dress for her as a surprise.
Charlotte is the youngest of six daughters in the Bartlett-Kruger family, which lives in an elegant mansion with a white butler, uniformed, white maids, and a pet peacock. Despite the family’s obvious wealth, little Charlotte seems to be the Cinderella of the family as far as her clothing and possessions are concerned. She mends her sisters’ castoff dolls and stuffed animals and wears only one old dress with a patch and boots that need resoling. When the parents decide to have a fancy party, Charlotte is sad because her only choices of dresses are tired and worn outfits offered by her older sisters. After Charlotte cries herself to sleep, her sisters work with the stuffed animals and dolls to combine bits of the dresses with household items. Together they create a lovely ball gown fit for a princess, “made not only of hand-me-down garments, but with sisterly love.” Intricately detailed illustrations impart a fairy-tale flavor to the story, incorporating sumptuous details of the family mansion and the sisters’ many costumes. Though the sisters are totally wrapped up in their wardrobe choices and several elements of the plot require the willing suspension of disbelief, young readers who like fashion design and fairy tales will enjoy Charlotte’s transformation into the budding belle of the ball.
A modern take on the Cinderella story, with kind and loving sisters replacing the mean stepsisters. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-553-52095-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.
A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.
The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77227-238-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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