Cinderella

I've been studying and collecting Cinderella stories for awhile now. Yesterday I read a really thought-provoking blog at Book Aunt. It's called How Cinderella Got Twittered. I went and pulled out all my copies of Cinderella and reread five or six of them. What IS the difference between a storybook and a picture book? It's time to start looking at some of the picture books I'm reading from a different angle. There is certainly a "place" for both in our kids' libraries.

In Search of Cinderella (Katharine Goodwin, Shen's Books, 2000) A Curriculum for the 21st Century includes a few pages of general Cinderella information and ideas (including "Creating Your Own Cinderella Tale") and specific activities for twelve different multicultural Cinderella picture books. This is a wonderful start for a Cinderella classroom investigation that includes some excellent ideas. I've found it very useful and interesting.

I've already reviewed Bubba the Cowboy Prince (Ketteman/Warhola), which is a male Cinderella in a cowboy/southwestern setting. It's a yeeha kind of fun.

And then there's the breathtaking Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal (Fleischman/Paschkis) which includes adaptations from 17 different cultures. Visually gorgeous.

If the Shoe Fits (Whipple/Beingessner) is Cinderella's story told in verse/poems in the voices of the characters in the story, including the main characters we know so well --- as well as the shoes, a rat, and even the dead father. The stepsisters and the ball guests are poems for more-than-one voice. Well done, a great reader's theater.

I'm off to find more....