 |
Brown, M., & Perrault, C. (1954). Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. |
Originally published in French by Charles Perrault
Retold/translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
1954
32 pages
You can't possibly tell me you don't already know the classic story of Cinderella, but I'll go ahead and give you a summary anyways.
Cinderella is a beautiful young girl. Her father is married to his second wife, Cinderella's stepmother, and she is simply evil. When Cinderella's father dies, Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters are unbelievably cruel to poor Cinderella. She becomes their servant. One day, the family receives news that the king's son will be holding a ball to find a wife. Cinderella's stepsisters bustle about getting ready for days - when the day finally comes, Cinderella, of course, is not permitted to go. Suddenly, Cinderella's fairy godmother finds her. She changes Cinderella's rags into a beautiful ballgown and sends her off to the ball in an elegant carriage (that was once a pumpkin) with beautiful horses (that were once mice), and elegant coachmen (that were once rats). The fairy godmother warns Cinderella that she must return by midnight, for that is when her clothes will return to rags and the animals will turn back to themselves. The prince, the king, and the other ladies are in awe of Cinderella's beauty - her stepsisters do not recognize her. Cinderella dances with the prince and he falls in love - he begs her to come back the next night. That she does, and he falls even more deeply in love. On this second night, Cinderella forgets her godmother's warning - she rushes out as the clock strikes midnight and loses one of her beautiful glass slippers. The prince picks it up and sets off to find the beautiful woman who lost it. Every girl in the kingdom tries it on, including Cinderella's stepsisters. Finally Cinderella gets her chance and the shoe is the perfect fit - her godmother appears and changes her rags into a beautiful gown once more. Cinderella's stepsisters beg forgiveness and they are forgiven, and, as you can guess, Cinderella and the prince live happily ever after.
This retelling of Cinderella is slightly different from the original. It does not include the gory elements of Cinderella's stepsisters cutting off their toes and heels to make the shoe fit them and Cinderella actually forgives them in the end. That said, it teaches a great lesson to treat all people with kindness and to forgive even those who are mean to you.
This book won the Caldecott Medal award. It's illustrations are interesting and unique. They are charming and almost ethereal. They seem to be full of magic and enchantment, created with delicate line drawings colored with pastel gouache paints. Purchase the book here.
Watch Disney's Cinderella, which was released in March 2015. Then, do a compare and contrast activity!
You could also watch Disney's 1950 version of Cinderella. Then, do the same - compare and contrast!
Investigate some of the different versions of this classic fairy tale that have been published throughout the years. There are even versions that date as far back as seventh century Egypt!
Cinderella Stories Around the World (will open as a PDF document)
No comments:
Post a Comment