Seriously, Cinderella is so Annoying!

Seriously, Cinderella is so Annoying!

The Story of Cinderella

As told by the Wicked Stepmother

Author:  Trisha Speed Shaskan

Illustrated by: Gerald Guerlais

Copyright:  2012

Published by:  Picture Window Books

Number of Pages:  22

Genre:   Fantasy

                I chose this book because I thought it might a humorous adaptation of a traditional story.  In this version the stepmother will tell us the “true” story of Cinderella.  The stepmother’s husband (Cinderella’s father), goes away on business.  Cinderella is a bit flighty and the house is a mess.    Cinderella just wouldn’t stop talking.  Cinderella did all the chores so fast that she had to find more chores for her.  Cinderella even lost her voice from talking so much.  That is the reason that Cinderella had to stay home from the ball.  Cinderella ended up going anyway.  As the traditional story goes the prince fell in love.  The stepmother said the prince had no idea what he was getting into.

                The illustrations in this book were created digitally.  There is both formal and informal text placement in the book.  The pictures are whimsical in nature.  There is a great deal of attention to detail.  The illustrations are very expressive.  The illustrator also used vignettes to highlight details in the story.    They use both double page spreads and single page layouts.  The colors in the story are bright and vivid.

                This book is appropriate for ages 3-8 years old.  I would use this book to compare other versions of Cinderella.  I might ask my students to right a version of the story from another perspective.  For example, I might encourage them to write from the perspective of the fairy godmother or the stepsisters.  I would include this book in a study of traditional literature.  I would also teach the students that this is a fractured folktale.  This book has not won any awards or honors.