Cinderella or Cinderella or Cinderella - All the Same

Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci. S&S, 1998.

Immediate connection with the narrator appearing before the title page. The fabulous voice is already rich and engaging, then add the surprise of the narrator being the “fairy godmother,” well!

Such a different take from Yeh Shen (a Chinese Cinderella retelling by Ai-Ling Louie), yet Yeh Shen is so much more culturally rich. It’s a truly different version of a classic tale, not a retelling of one with a switch in cultural setting.


I had this complaint about a Halloween version as well, Cinderella Skeleton. It was the same old story but with skeletons and undead vs. humans. I know we all just adore Pinkney (the illustrator) and San Souci is better known than Ai-Ling Louie, but honestly, the writing and originality of this tale pale compared to Yeh Shen; even the illustrations are lacking in the artistry of Ed Young’s paintings. If a culturally rich adaptation of a classic tale is going to be on a required reading list for any MFAC program, I think it should be Yeh Shen.

A Little Moody over Judy Moody

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald. Candlewick, 2000.

Very Ramona-the-pest both in tone and content: the every-day becomes huge in a way that takes a child’s moods and struggles seriously. Funny and “edgy” for a third grader. A venus fly trap, a doll that gets sick, fake hand in a toilet.

Judy is just as smart and sensitive as Ramona, and I liked how the story was built around a “me” collage. A lovely addition to the "Cute Little Girl" genre. (Is there such a genre? There certainly must be ...)