Joe Cinders

by Marianne Mitchell, Bryan Langdo (Illustrator)

A southwestern Cinderella story with a twist.

"Way out West, where dreams come true, lived a poor cowboy named Joe Cinders."

Joe does all the chores while his mean stepbrothers, Buck, Bart, and Butch Bronco, spend their days counting buzzards in the sky. When pretty Miss Rosalinda invites them to her fall fiesta, the Bronco boys are determined that one of them will sashay her up to the preacher.

Poor Joe is left at home to watch the cattle. Suddenly a mysterious fella in baggy overalls appears, and with a few waves of his crooked stick Joe is ready to knock Miss Rosalinda off her feet--if the escaped prize bull doesn't do it first. This hilarious southwestern Cinderella story will make every reader wish for a fairy godfella.

Genres: Picture Books, Cinderella, Fairy Tales, Westerns, Retellings, Childrens, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2002

About the author

A native of Arizona, she now lives in Portugal.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Cinders follows the same motif as Cinderella, except…he’s a cowboy who has three lazy stepbrothers! Joe is the only one who does the chores, especially after “his ma and step-pa got swept away in a gully washer”. Joe’s stepbrothers were invited to Miss Rosalinda’s fall fiesta at the Rancho Milagro. Joe wasn’t invited, since he wasn’t really a Bronco. Joe wanted to go to the fiesta so badly. His brothers argued all week about what costumes they would wear to the event, while Joe did all the chores. After the boys rode off to attend the fiesta, Joe “sadly rode the range on his old horse” when suddenly, he saw a light shoot across the sky. A man appeared who said he was there to take him to the fiesta! With the wave of his magic stick, Joe was dressed in a brand-new cowboy outfit with a white sombrero. As you may expect, Joe Cinders got to dance with Rosalinda almost the entire night. Upon the sound of the fireworks show, Joe knew he had to leave before anyone found out his true identity. As he ran off, his foot got stuck in a prairie-dog hole where he was forced to leave his boot. Rosalinda came by the ranch a few days later to find out who owned the boot. Rosalinda found out that Joe Cinders fit the boot perfectly…and they got married! They turned the ranch into the Red Boot Dude Ranch and hired Joe’s stepbrothers to manage the ranch while Rosalinda and Joe entertaining guests – especially the mysterious man who made their dreams come true.

I can see how boys would enjoy this fairy tale if they tend to dislike the common themes among this genre. I did find the book humorous and far less fairy tale-like than typical love stories in children’s literature. If you like the elegance of Cinderella in her beautiful dress as she dances gracefully with the prince…this is not the book for you! The watercolor illustrations offer details and accentuate the humor in this twist on an old fairy tale. The book is very much intended to be masculine and appeal to readers who may not enjoy the longtime Cinderella classic. I think it would be fun to read with students in grades 1-4 because of the humor and the students’ ability to make comparisons to the original Cinderella. I would read several Cinderella books to help familiarize the students with the story and would ask students to make specific comparisons between this book and the typical version of a girl protagonist. I would also ask for their opinion about which book they enjoyed more. A great read if you’re in the mood for humor coupled with the motif of the beloved Cinderella.

[Alexa Maring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the "Cinderella" twist! We always read about a girl who is forced to do chores, but what about the boys! Where is the classic tale where the main character is a boy? Marianne Mitchell does a fantastic dog of turning the Disney Cinderella story into a fairy tale for boys. You can use this in your comparison series of "Cinderella" and the boys in the group will relate to this story much better than a princess or a girl forced to do house chores. Another wonderful aspect of this book is the setting. Joe Cinders lives on a farm in the country, rather than a ball he wants to attend the Fall fiesta at the ranch. The dialect is a good technique to point out to students. Rather than using proper English, the boys speak in the dialect suitable to their home. The rodeo/country speech shows students that we do have the freedom to write the way that we talk, we do not have to use proper grammar and speech if the story fits with a different way of speaking!

[Sojeong Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a basic story line of Cinderella, but it is not the same. The main character is a male character who is a cowboy and the clothes that he is wearing is also the way cowboys wear. Like the Cinderella story he wears the a shoe and lost it which is a red boots, but not like the Cinderella, his shoe changed the size according to which one trying to put on, and finally it fits Joe and he meets the one he admired. The story and the illustration was very interesting, because it was very new to make the main character male instead of female, and the because the setting and the culture is different, it feels like it was a different story, which i found interesting.

[Leslie Morrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm giving this book one star only because the main character is a boy. The writing is weak, and the art is just not good. The message conveyed by this story is that the boy must show his strength (instead of his beauty and charm) and he must rescue the girl from harm. After demonstrating his ability to protect her, she will dance with him and only him. This story also leads the main characters into marriage and a big wedding. So Joe marries up, just like all Cinderella stories. Is this still the only option, even in modern retellings?

[Lisa Rathbun]

Fun story! The main character is a hard-working cowboy with three lazy stepbrothers. The stranger in a serape (how do you pronounce that?) waves his stick with a Ka-zowie and Ka-zoom to ready him for the fiesta, and he arrives in a bright red pickup truck! I like the extra touch of him saving the day by capturing the bull, a very manly thing to do, even though later the "princess" character proposes to HIM! All in all, a cute read.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

How many Old West Cinderella stories are out there?! This was good. I'd say predictable, but--it's a well-known fairy tale! This take is a bit more modern, as his old horse becomes a red truck. And there is some light humor if you look closer at the pictures. Probably will book talk this one with all the other Old West books I'm collecting for Book Time.

[Julie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Cowboy version of the Classic Cinderella.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute retelling of the Cinderella story, especially for country western fans. Joe the cowboy loses his boot, but the dancing belle finds her man because the "boot fits."

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure fun! I definitely enjoyed this twist on the familiar tale, especially the old man with baggy jeans, a wool serape, and a crooked stick. All through, I couldn't help smiling.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the cowboy-ranch twist on this Cinderella type story. I also liked that he drove a truck to the party. :)

[Michelle Bouillon]

I think this is a very different Cinderella story. I like that it is done from a boy's point of view. This might be more appealing for young boys rather than the original fairy tale of Cinderella.

[Laretta]

doesn't work for my purposes.

[Tessa Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Cinder is forced to stay home and do all the chores on the ranch, while his step brothers all got invited to the fall fiesta. A stranger plays the fairy godmother role and gives Joe a new outfit and a truck for the fall fiesta, but Joe must leave before the midnight fireworks. An interesting take on the classic Cinderella story

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fractured tale all cowboy themed. Reminiscent of Bubba the Cowboy Prince (pretty sure Joe Cinders was written first).

I stand corrected. Bubba was written in 1997 and Joe was written in 2002. I much prefer the art in Bubba.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Western spin on a fairy-tale classic.

[Donna Mckeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying my search for retold fairy tales and this one definitely put a new twist on my own childhood favorite. And it made me smile the whole time I was reading it too.

[GardeniaPearl]

Kinda ridiculous quibble: it's supposed to be a costume party and Joe doesn't go in a costume, just nice clothes.