Cinderella

Cinderella, illustrated by K.Y. Craft is a version which was adapted from the Arthur Rackham Fairy Book and Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Books. The story is very similar to most of the Cinderella stories we grew up with but has a few added elements that are not contained in all the stories. In this version, Cinderella meets the prince in the woods before the ball, where he sees her in her everyday clothes and is already interested. Also, she attends the ball two nights in a row, instead of just the one night most people remember. The second night, she almost forgets about the midnight deadline and this is when she rushes out of the ballroom, leaving her glass slipper behind. As in other versions, the prince searches for the owner of the slipper, finds Cinderella is the one, and marries her. As in most versions the ending is a "happily ever after" one.

The beautiful oil over watercolor illustrations depict the time period of the 17th to 18th century. They are exquisitely detailed works of art.

Cinderella was always a favorite fairy tale for me and I loved reading this version. The illustrations made me feel as if I'd gone back in time. I felt envious of Cinderella's gown. Even though her character is unrealistically good and doesn't change much, I'm glad to see that her wicked stepsisters have a change of heart. The element of forgiveness may be as unrealistic as pumpkins turning into coaches for some people. I see it as an ideal to strive for, even if it can't be totally attained. This is a great example of a traditional fantasy/fairy tale

I recommend this version of Cinderella for Pre-K to 4th grade.

Keywords associated with this book: Cinderella, fairy tales, Andrew Lang, Arthur Rackham, fairy godmothers, magic spells