Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween

by Deborah Nourse Lattimore

Cinderhazel is a blond witch who loves dirt more than anything. When her stepsisters and stepmother fly off to attend the annual Halloween witches' ball, where the elusive Prince Alarming will make an appearance, they leave Cinderhazel behind. All her attempted spells turn to dust -- until her witchy fairy godmother appears and sends Cinderhazel off to meet the equally messy prince. Could this be the beginning of filthily ever after?

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Cinderella, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Childrens, Holiday

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1996

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the author's impulse to make an inverted Cinderella story in which the protagonist is not sweet and servile -- here she is dirty, willful, and rude -- but I'm not sure it really worked for me. It's nice that Hazel and the Prince had something in common (loving filth) but the whole thing felt very off-the-cuff, like a story that one makes up as one goes upon a spontaneous request. Which obviously isn't the case given the level of detail of the illustrations. I didn't like these as much as her previous books I've read. Why are everyone's tongues hanging out? Is this a witch characteristic I've never heard of?



I don't know, it was okay, I guess. I didn't care much one way or the other. I even suspect I may have read this once before and forgotten it.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

The classic fairytale of Cinderella gets a Halloween make-over in Deborah Nourse Lattimore's Cinderhazel, which follows the story of a dirt-loving witch named Hazel - whose shenanigans in the ashy fireplace lead her stepmother and stepsisters to dub her "Cinderhazel" - and her discovery of true love, in the form of Prince Alarming. Prince Filthy Alarming, of course, for the royal star of the Witches' Halloween Ball - to which Hazel has no intention of going, until her witchy godmother convinces her that it will be one dirty gathering - is her match in every way...

More than a little disgusting, in both a textual and visual sense, Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween is also somewhat lacking in the humor that would have made its grossness more palatable. One feels that it is trying to be funny - that it is reaching for the kind of potty humor found in the Captain Underpants books, or The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit - but it never quite succeeds. I came away with a feeling of distaste, and while I fully acknowledge that my tastes don't tend toward the gross, as a rule, I can be won over. Lattimore just isn't up to the job, here...

[Rebecca Muller · Rating 2 out of 5]

CinderHazel loves her nickname because she loves dirt! Her goal is to get to the ball to meet a Prince who also loves dirt. Her godwitch switches her broken broom for a flying vacuum to get to the ball on time. Although CinderHazel couldn’t do a spell to fix her own broom, she was able to cast a spell to dirty up the ball. No doubt the prince loves the mess, and after midnight the two stay together casting spells to make the palace a messier place.

I gave this picture book 2/5 stars. The story line is quite weak. It’s called a Halloween tale, but there aren’t any references to Halloween. It’s odd she can cast spells but can’t fix her own broom. The cartoon illustrations are colorful and contrast the dirt nicely. However, all the witches look ‘ugly’ and it doesn’t make sense that their stepsister, Cinder Hazel, likes dirt and they don’t. The tale wasn’t cohesive.

[Amber Dietzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
Hazel, a witch who is obsessed with dirt and loves to spend time in the fireplace, gets the nickname Cinderhazel. She has a stepmother and two stepsisters who make her clean. The stepmother and stepsisters go to the ball and leave Cinderhazel at the house to clean. The short, plump witch comes to help her get to the ball so she can meet the prince, who is the king of dirt. The god witch fixes her broom into a vacuum so that she can go to the ball. Will she be able to get her dirt prince before the clock strikes midnight?

Teaching Method:

This is an excellent take on Cinderella. Children would appreciate this book because it's very entertaining, and if they are familiar with the story Cinderella, they can compare and contrast. It could be read during Halloween, and the activity could occur after Cinderhazel and the classic Cinderella are read. This would be a good book for K-2nd.

[Set · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cinderhazel finds her Prince alarming in this ridiculous witchy version of Cinderella. Lol Cinderella is a willful, rude, filthy dirty witch that finds a prince that is just as filthy and dirty as her. I don't know what the purpose or irony of this book. This is one of the Addam's family books to read your Wednesday if you've got one.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a light, funny story, one which will make my grandkids laugh out loud. I love the witchy spin on Cinderella, and the fact that she likes to be dirty! The fact that the prince does as well, seems she's met her perfect match.

[Jennifer Strong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hazel is a witch who loves dirt, but she isn't very good at spells. Her stepsisters, Hermione and Hildy, make fun of her lack of magical ability and call her "Cinderhazel" because of her love of dirt. When they leave to attend Witches' Halloween Ball, Cinderhazel refuses to go at first. She doesn't want to meet a "hoity-toity prince." Her "witchy godmother" appears and convinces her she does indeed want to go (even if it's just for the filthy fireplaces). Her broken broom is magically turned into a vacuum cleaner which she rides across the kingdom and straight down a massive fireplace- right into the dance hall! Cinderhazel makes such a dirty mess that all the other witches are disgusted. But one person isn't. The prince, Prince Filthy Alarming, is a fan of dirt, and Cinderhazel is the dirtiest thing he's ever seen! It goes without question that they live happily ever after in the filthy palace.
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This version of Cinderella is super fun! Hazel has confidence in her dirt abilities despite her poor magic performance. She doesn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. The prince is just as filthy as she is which makes them a perfect couple! The last page explains the absence of a glass slipper. A silly read for those who love fairytales and Halloween!

[NS-Christine Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cinderhazel and her two stepsisters, Hermione and Hildy are witches. Hildy and Hermione have fun casting spells and learning curses, while Hazel cleans the floors. Hazel doesn't mind being dirty, she actually likes dirt, and wants her stepsisters to call her Cinderhazel!

The two stepsisters prepare to go to the Witches' Halloween Ball, but leave Cinderhazel home because they don't want to be seen with her. At first, Cinderhazel doesn't mind, but the more she thinks about it, the more angry she becomes. She tries to fly off on her broom but it breaks! She tries to cast a spell, but her hat turns to dirt! Suddenly, her witchy godmother appears and turns her broom into a vacuum cleaner!

Cinderhazel arrives at the ball, dirtier than ever from all of the vacuum dust! Her sisters recognize her and start to tease her, but Cinderhazel casts a spell, and this time it works! Cinderhazel finally gets her chance to meet the prince! But what will he think of the dusty and dirty Cinderhazel?

This is a unique twist on the Cinderella classic. Students will enjoy hearing a new version of the well known story, and comparing the two.

[Emily Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hazel is a witch who is often rude, ignorant, and disrespectful to those she meets especially to her family. Tired of being mistreated by her family because of how she enjoys what we usually don’t-like dirt. After not wanting to go to the ball for personal reasons, she meets a fairy godwitch who uses magic to make Hazel dirty enough to impress the prince for a short period of time. Later, Hazel uses this magic for a surprising reason. I enjoyed reading about how Hazel grew from becoming ignorant about other people to learning to accept others who might enjoy the same things as her.

This book would be included for 2nd grade ELA. Students will have the opportunity with this book to compare various versions of Cinderella. This activity can be comparing a classic Cinderella and 3 other versions of the same story. They would be able to compare the characters, setting, and the elements from these versions. This book would also be good for 3rd grade students in ELA to compare the character traits of the classic Cinderella to another version of the same character.

[Ashley King · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun and interesting twist to Cinderella. This story takes place as a Halloween book with witches and a witch who loves to be dirty. Her fairly godmother turned her broken broom into a vacuum and off she went to meet the prince. However, instead of being an uppity prince, he turned into Prince Filthy who at the end they find out they have a enough dirt to share between each other and lived filthy every after.
This would be a great compare and contrast book during a fiction fairy reading genre lesson. Most students know about the Disney version of Cinderella but this and finding others that are similar, they would be able to use to compare the various books and then contrast them. While doing this concept they would be able to use a Venn diagram to help organize their ideas and see the differences between the books and the similarities.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this classic but twisted Cinderella story, Hazel loves dirt. Which doesn't seem out of character for witches. Hazel loves dirt she grosses out her step sisters and step mother so much they call her Cinderhazel. Cinderhazel gets left behind for the Halloween ball where the dirtiest prince of all would be. Cinderhazel could make it to the ball if she rides her broom. But her broom has a major crack in it... does she make it? Does she ever meet the prince?

This story would be great to use for a study on different variations of Cinderella. Students could study the classic version, this version, and a different. The students then could compare and contrast the different settings, word choice, and characters.

[Amber Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not a huge fan of this book. It was alright, but it did not really catch my attention. It might catch a child's eye because it is classic fairytale, but instead of a princess it is a messy witch and we all know that kids like to get messy. Children would find humor in this. I would keep this in my classroom library as a fun reading book for students and may read it in October around Halloween time.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Cinderella book is a great modern twist to the classic story. It changed up the parts in Cinderella with having the same plot lines. The books makes an exciting new Halloween story to read to children. Great twist of Cinderella with humor.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

CinderHazel loves dust and dirt while her stepmother and stepsisters think its grow. These four are witches, of course. They all clean up to go to the ball (except for CinderHazel - she goes dirty) and the Prince loves dirt, too. They live “filthily ever after”

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloween version of Cinderella. Interesting illustrations, but the plot wasn't entirely enjoyable for me... The prince chose Cinderhazel because she was dirty... Very interesting. Good lesson about being yourself.

[Kaia Neff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a twist on Cinderella where she loves filth instead of cleaning things. This is a cute book because she finds a prince who likes dirt too. I'd probably recommend this book but it wasn't my favorite.

[Kaitlynn Beuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the idea of a relatively robust version of Cinderella was appealing, I was not a fan. It was random, and it felt made up as we went along. Kids might find it funny and silly, but I need clarification on the storyline.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan! It was weirdly worded and felt like there should be a rhythm to it but there never really was.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dirt, dirt, and more dirt - add in a fairy godwitch and a flying vacuum and have fun! Be sure to pay attention the the illustrations, which add a lot to the story.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite Cinderella adaptation, but still immensely enjoyable.

[Melissa Carroll]

This is...bizarre.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. That was pretty awful.

[Nancy Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Cinderella story by far.

[Gena Lott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute rewriting of Cinderella for Halloween.

[Saffron Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea, but not fleshed out enough to be enjoyable. Sadly, not very endearing, mostly forgettable.

[Della Tingle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I LOVE Cinderella stories! However, I do not love this one. The Cinderella character is not likable. The prince is not likable. The book is not likable. 😩

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent retelling, though it didn’t wow us.

[Kyra Rickenbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a fun book to have around Halloween time. It is a fun twist to the story Cinderella.

[Maria Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute spinoff of Cinderella but I wouldn’t personally read it to a class.

[GardeniaPearl]

Halloween Cinderellas are not for me.