Module 3: Cinderella, or The little glass slipper

Summary

Cinderella's father marries a woman with two daughters, none of whom like Cinderella, who is forced to live as a servant. When the prince announces a ball, Cinderella helps her stepsisters get ready, while wishing she could go herself. Her godmother, a fairy, provides her with a magical coach and dress for the two nights of the ball, with the admonishment that she be gone before midnight, when the magic ends. The second night, Cinderella stays a bit too long, and loses her glass slipper as she flees the palace. The prince sends a footman to make sure all the girls try on the slipper, and Cinderella, being the only one with her shoe size, is found. Her stepsisters beg her forgiveness and she takes them to live in the palace with her when she marries the prince.


Citation
Perrault, C. (1954). Cinderella:or the little glass slipper. (M. Brown,Trans, Illus.). New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Impression

I was not really impressed by any aspect of this version of the story. The text was kind of talky and long for young readers, with none of the gore--foot cutting, eye pecking--that I expect from non-Disney versions of Cinderella. I kept thinking that Cinderella had Stockholm syndrome or something, as she was entirely too nice and forgiving of her abusive family.

On the picture side, I was entirely unimpressed by the impressionistic four-color sketches. The colors were dull, and I didn't feel like the pictures really added anything to the story--it would have been just as effective without them. Overall this book just did not work for me.


Review

"There is perhaps no better loved, no more universal story than "Cinderella." Almost every country in the world has a version of it, but the favorite of story-tellers is the French version by Charles Perrault.

This translation is excellent for story-telling and also for reading aloud. Marcia Brown's illustrations are full of magic and enchantment from the little cupids putting back the hands of the clock to the last scene at the palace. They are pictures that will stay in a child's mind."

Simon and Schuster. [Review of the book Cinderella, or, The Little Glass Slipper, M. Brown,Trans].http://books.simonandschuster.com/Cinderella/Marcia-Brown/9780684126760

Uses

There are so many different versions of this story, that I think it would be really interesting to use this book and several versions from different cultures to draw attention to them. A display might be the best way to do this, or a series of storytimes with activities relating to the culture of each Cinderella version.