Cinderella

Classic Treasury 1 The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales #6

by John Patience

A mistreated young woman wins a better life with a prince through the help of her fairy godmother.

Genres: Childrens, Fairy Tales

18 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 1989

About the author

John Patience was born in Lancashire, England, in 1949 and trained in typography and book design at the Harris College in Preston, Lancashire. After college, he worked briefly as a designer for a couple of publishers in London, England but he really wanted to have his own children's books published. He did various jobs to earn a living, whilst writing and developing his skills as an illustrator.

John's first self-authored illustrated children's book was published in 1980 - 'The Seasons in Fern Hollow'. Over the next few years this grew into four further series called 'Tales from Fern Hollow', eventually totalling 17 titles.

Since then John has had more than 100 titles published in many countries around the world and translated into many languages. He has written, designed and illustrated both "flat" books and pop-up books.

He lives with his wife in rural France and as well as his writing and illustrating he enjoys producing digital sculptures.

Reviews

[Madison O'Hara]

This book is more so the original version of the book with beautiful illustrations. It is much better, in my opinion, to use this story book then using the Disney version. Although they are ultimately the same story, it is good to show the kids where Disney got that idea from. Good for comparing and contrasting and seeing exactly how different they are.

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was absolutely obsessed with John Patience’s Rainbow’s End series when I was a kid (honestly, I still am), so I figured that I would check out some of his retold fairytales as well. While we obviously can’t compare the retellings to his original work (to give them a fair chance), this version of Cinderella was pretty decent. The narrative had no surprises and didn’t do much to engage the reader past a basic level, but I really enjoyed what he did with the illustrations. The story is set historically, so we get the expected castles and ball gowns as decoration, but what takes Patience’s illustrations to the next level is his application of marbling and fabric patterning into the dress forms and backgrounds. This unexpected combination of traditional illustration techniques with seamless collage provides the reader with a lot more visual stimulation than expected and makes the story stand out in comparison to the bevy of other adaptations out there. There’s a few more of Patience’s classic fairytale retellings out there, so now I just have to find them!

[Lacy | literary_lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a version of Cinderella that is pretty close to the Disney story we all know and love. It is a little different, and the illustrations were a little creepy to me. Everyone looks mean and evil. My kids seemed to enjoy it though. This is a fun fairytale story.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations integral to my childhood. <3

[Juliathebookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is one of the most beautifully illustrated Cinderella stories out there! The swirled marble effect on nearly every page- and especially on Cinderella's dress- is stunning. This is probably my favorite depiction of the prince as well. A beautiful retelling, beautifully illustrated!

[Mae Hinson]

Good lessons on jealousy and forgiveness
Could finish the reading with a discussion on how Cinderella was able to forgive her stepsisters, students could design their own carriage from animals and objects, or students could compare this Cinderella to the one they watched as children.

[Kymberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say this one of my favorite if not my favorite version. The illustrations are gorgeous yet fun! Then my 6 year old nephew liked it too. :) i

[Vickie Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good lord. They were blinded for being cruel. That’s madness. Brothers Grimm sure had a knack for horrid stories.

[Amanda]

read this for my young adult lit class. this isn’t the exact version I read but it’s hard to find Cinderella by Brothers Grimm that isn’t in a bind up.

[Marília Lemos · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8
Creepy but good. Also her dad sucks