Cinderella (Fairy Tales)
by Charles Perrault
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charles PerraultIllustrator: Roberto Innocenti
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: French (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-10-01
ISBN: 1568461305
Number of pages: 32
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Publisher: Creative Editions
Book Reviews of Cinderella (Fairy Tales)
Book Review: One of a multitude of Cinderellas ...
Summary: 5 Stars
and one that is beautiful and very different.
It takes a bit of chutzpah to recommend a particular Cinderella. Google Books is a rich source of the Cinderella stories: there's a collection of 345 different versions in CINDERELLA by Marian Roalfe Cox (1892), over 2,300 books with "Cinderella" in the title, an opera by Gioacchino Rossini, and 37,600,000 hits on Google.
This "Cinderella" is special in a couple of ways. It reminds the reader of Charles Perrault who gets pride of authorship for this book. He published "Histoires et Contes du Temps Passé" ("Mother Goose Tales", 1729). There were eight fairy tales told in a polished style, including five that have become icons: "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", "Puss in Boots", "Bluebeard", and "Red Riding Hood".
Roberto Innocenti paints in a realistic and detailed style, with delicate colors and a refined lines. This CINDERELLA is one of his first major works in English.
He placed Cinderella in an English village during the Roaring Twenties. That would reduce the influence of previous illustrators and freshen the tale. He kept the glass slipper, of course, although in some versions the slipper is made of fur.
The story is very easy to read, either to oneself or aloud to kids. Here's the introduction, for example:
"There was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband, two daughters who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. He had, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world."
The cover is a fair representation of the artwork; there are many details that kids love to look at after the reading is done. If you aren't convinced, search Google Books for " Roberto Innocenti Cinderella ". You'll find several other illustrations. A small drawing of Cinderella in a window is achingly poignant -- she might be in a prison cell. The illustration at "Once upon a time" is more complex but equally poignant.
The man tips his hat to his wife and her two daughters while Cinderella washes clothes below them. The details are wonderful: Cinderella's hair net contrasts with the flapper hats of the three women; there is a strong family resemblance, but each of the three women have their own personalities; the snow in the wall crevices makes your hands ache with cold as you empathize with Cinderella. [As an eight year old pointed out, no steam comes up from the running water on this cold winter day.]
Is the man Cinderella's father? Both the man and Cinderella are brunettes, and the hair cut is similar. But would the husband tip his hat to his new wife and daughters in the Roaring Twenties? Generally, where was Cinderella's father in any of the versions of this fairy tale? How could a father have permitted a good and sweet tempered girl to be so mistreated? Innocenti may have left a clue in the pinched face of the man in this image.
Patty Campbell wrote in the "New York Times Book Review" that this "witty flapper era [rendition] has been widely admired." This book will appeal to book collectors, but more importantly will appeal to children of all ages. I admire it greatly.
Robert C. Ross
Summary of Cinderella (Fairy Tales)
In her haste to flee the palace before the fairy godmother's magic loses effect, Cinderella leaves behind a glass slipper. The illustrations set the story in 1920s London.General Books
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