Cinderella

by Christine San José, Charles Perrault, Debrah Santini (Illustrator)

Boyds Mills Press publishes a wide range of high-quality fiction and nonfiction picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Fantasy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1934

Reviews

[NS-Christine Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the classic Cinderella story that begins when Cinderella's mother dies and her father remarries. Cinderella gets a new stepmother and two stepsisters that keep her busy with chores and treat her very poorly. When the stepsisters head to the prince's ball, Cinderella is very sad. She is surprised when her fairy godmother appears and turns four mice into white horses! Her fairy godmother prepares everything for Cinderlla to attend the ball, and tells her only to be back before the clock strikes twelve.

Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball, and even met the prince! She left before the clock struck twelve, and the prince was left wondering who this special girl was. He arranged for another ball, and Cinderella's godmother used her magic to help her get ready again. And again, she reminded Cinderella to be home before twelve. Cinderella enjoyed herself very much, but had to run when she realized it was almost twelve. In her haste, she dropped one of her beautiful glass slippers. The prince found the glass slipper and was determined to find the girl it belonged to, so he could make her his bride.

This version of Cinderella has very rich vocabulary. Because it is a familiar story, the students will be able to comprehend the story without getting hung up on the difficult words. This provides opportunities for vocabulary enrichment with words like "jeered", "wretched", "flaunted", and "splendid". I did not care for the illustrations.

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this version of the classic. There are other versions that I've enjoyed more, but I thought this was different from others because it is set in an Edwardian/turn of the 20th Century city that I interpreted to be New York City.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations set this version in the Roaring 20s. It was a nice departure.

[Brenna Mclean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the classic fairytale story of Cinderella. Christine San Jose follows the same plot line of a girl who is forced to live with her wretched step mother and step sisters. They make her do all of the chores around the house and sleep in horrible conditions while they thrive off of her fathers hard earned money. When they learn of the prince's ball, they try to leave Cinderella behind. However, a fairy godmother comes and gives Cinderella a gown and carriage to get to the ball. Her and the prince fall in love at first sight, but Cinderella has to suddenly leave to get home before midnight. She loses one of her slippers, and the prince goes on a town-wide search for her. All of the women try to force the shoe to fit them, but it slides perfectly onto Cinderella's foot. He realizes that she is his love from the ball and they live happily ever after.
Cinderella is one of my favorite fairytales. Christine San Jose and Debrah Santini did a good job sticking to the original storyline. The illustrations were amazing in the detail, but I always imagine Cinderella to be a little more graceful than it was portrayed in this book. The pictures were realistic and fit perfectly with the story, but I would have liked it to be a little prettier. I mean it is a fairytale after all!

[RLL22016_MarinaVasquez]

I would recommend this book to young readers, who are interest in the whole Cinderella theme. The reason is because this books shows the old folktale to be known in a version of the Cinderella is treated as a servant by her stepmother and step sisters. Then the prince holds a ball and everyone is invited, but Cinderella told not to go by her stepmother and step sisters, yet is granted by her fairy godmother to be dress in a beautiful dress and have a nice carriage. the Prince ends up falling in love with her and determines to find her, so he holds a ball again the next day, yet this time Cinderella sees the clock strikes midnight, so she must go but she is too late so has to walk home and accidently leaves her slipper behind. So the prince grabs the slipper to make all the girls in the village to try it and whoever fit it will be his wife and ends up Cinderella fit it perfectly. Then they get happily marry.

[Meltha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of the three Cinderella versions I've looked at today, this one appears from the style of dress and the car the prince drives to be set somewhere around 1900-1910. Oddly, the only dress that doesn't really fit that category is Cinderella's, which is sort of maddeningly vague. The illustrations have a sepia tone to them, making much of the book look like an antique photograph, and the story takes place in what looks like a city, possibly Paris judging by the mansard roofs. This one also keeps the two Perrault details of the two balls and Cinderella sharing food with her step-sisters and step-mother at the party. It's a good idea, but the illustrations seem to be missing something at times. I'll also point out that while this is based on Perrault's, my copy has the author listed as Christine San Jose.

[Jessy Woolsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to the other versions I read, this is very close to the classic Cinderella Fairy Tale. I have not read or watched Cinderella since I was a child, and I always imagined it taking place in Europe. This version takes place in Manhattan in the turn of the century. Besides this, I noticed how familiar I am to the Disney version, and how unfamiliar I am with the classic version. All in all I liked it. The illustrations were just OKAY for me. I do think they are beautiful and whimsical, however, I wish they were organized a bit better, showing more focus. Some pictures backdrops meshed with the subjects which I disliked.

[Meghan Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was about a girl named Cinderella. Her dad remarried, so she had two stepsisters and a stepmom. One day Cinderella's dad passed away. Cinderella then had to live with her two evil stepsisters and her stepmom. Cinderella was treated like a maid, and she could not do anything fun. There was a ball one night so she sneaked out of the house and found her prince. No one could recognize who she was. This engaging story of Cinderella will be read aloud so that they can understand the Cinderella Story.

[Taylor Hainley]

This story of "Cinderella" by Christine San Jose is a children's fantasy novel with a twist. This story of Cinderella is told in the Manhattan setting. This is a new turn of the century kind of Cinderella. I really liked this twist they put on Cinderella in this book. It still had the same concept as the original, just a different setting. I would have this in my classroom library when we were learning about different fantasies.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Year Published: 1994

Grade Level: K-4

This is a bit more than the traditional story. It has the same aspects of the original, only a little different in that Cinderella attends 2 balls as opposed to just 1. I liked this story better than other ones because of the slight difference.

[Lisa Rathbun]

I liked the setting of the illustrations, but for me Cinderella was not pretty enough, and looked a bit old. I still wish I owned it for my Cinderella collection!

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was actually authored by Christine San Jose.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special.