Cinderella

\ From the PublisherHb 9/05\ Barbara McClintock, reteller Cinderella; illus. by the reteller\ 32 pp. Scholastic 10/05 ISBN 0-439-56145-0 $15.99 g\ (Primary)\ McClintock's pre-ball Cinderella looks as if she's stepped out of the pages of a Kate Greenaway picture book; despite her tattered clothing, she is all innocence and sweetness. The lavish furnishings and costumes, however, clearly set this version of the Perrault tale in the magnificent French court of Louis XIV. In McClintock's intricate pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, bedrooms boast canopied beds with ornate velvet draping, gold mirrors adorn the boudoirs, and crystal chandeliers hang from palace ceilings. McClintock pays no less attention to the clothing and coiffures of the day: all the female gentry appear in beribboned gowns, their male counterparts in lacy cutaways; both sport fashionable powdered wigs. To balance the grandeur of the court and accent the humility and goodness of Cinderella, a plain gray cat, unidentified in the unpretentious text, accompanies Cinderella throughout her travails -- to be rewarded on the final page, following Cinderella's marriage to the prince, with a gilded, richly upholstered chair. S.P.B.\ Kirkus 9/15/05\ CINDERELLA Author: McClintock, Barbara McClintock adapts Charles Perrault's version of the familiar tale, taking inspiration from the fashionable pretensions of the court of Louis XIV for her richly detailed watercolor and line illustrations. Her retelling is lively but economical, the better to allow the fulsome double-page spreads and episodic spot illustrations to reign. For several spreads, McClintock depicts two linked scenes. In one, Cinderella lies on a sleeping pallet in her crumbling upstairs garret while the two stepsisters, wielding hairbrushes and face cream, preen before a soaring, gilded mirror in their richly appointed bedchamber. While children will enjoy McClintock's tiny liberties with Perrault's narrative (Cinderella's godmother transforms the pumpkin with the magic words "FOOMUS BALOOMUS!"), they will be most apt to pore over the pictures, locating Cinderella's cat in the domestic scenes, noting the stepsisters' over-the-top coiffures and ball gowns and spotting the godmother, glowing wand in hand, as she observes from a distance Cinderella's garden wedding. Charming. (source note) (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8)\ SLJ 10/05 Starred\ *MCCLINTOCK, Barbara, retel. Cinderella. illus. by retel. unpaged. CIP. Scholastic. Oct. 2005. RTE $15.99. ISBN 0-439-56145-0. LC 2003024883.\ K-Gr 4–McClintock's faithful adaptation combines readable text and enchanting pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations filled with minute details of architecture and dress from the era of Louis XIV. The artist's aesthetic sense is evident in the layout of text and illustrations, for she has carefully placed pages of vignettes–some of them quite humorous–as “breathers” between the larger, more detailed spreads. The smoothly flowing story, lightened by snippets of conversation, has been divided so that each page has more white space and artwork than print. This fresh, appealing version of the perennial favorite belongs in every collection.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH\ Cinderella McClintock, Barbara (Retold by)\ Perrault, Charles (Other)\ ISBN: 0439561450\ Scholastic Press Published 2005-10\ Hardcover, $15.99 (32p)\ Juvenile Fiction \| Fairy Tales & Folklore \| European Ages: 04-08\ Reviewed 2005-10-31\ PW\ PW STARRED\\ McClintock (Goldilocks and the Three Bears ) salutes the visual styles of Caldecott and Greenaway in her delectable picture books. This Cinderella, based on Perrault's version, takes place in a sumptuous, Versailles-inspired palace where the heroine sleeps "on a thin mattress in the dingy attic\ \ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyMcClintock (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) salutes the visual styles of Caldecott and Greenaway in her delectable picture books. This Cinderella, based on Perrault's version, takes place in a sumptuous, Versailles-inspired palace where the heroine sleeps "on a thin mattress in the dingy attic" above her stepsisters' brocaded shell-pink boudoir. After the stepsisters depart for the royal ball, Cinderella's fairy godmother appears, draped in seafoam-green ruffles and lighting the dusk-blue evening with a radiant glass orb on a slender stick. Two nights in a row, the godmother conjures a rococo golden carriage, and Cinderella gets not one but two outfits, first a ballooning pink gown with a floral headdress, and then a champagne-gold and lavender number that will floor young fashionistas. McClintock's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations emulate old-fashioned wood engravings, and the traditional story seems suffused with magic. Yet she adds contemporary touches too, in her balance of fast-moving comics sequences and closely observed moments. Cinderella and the smitten prince "danced all night, chatting with the ease of old, close friends," and at the end, the former chambermaid introduces each of her stepsisters to "a suitable nobleman... They were all terribly sorry about how they had treated her, and everyone lived happily ever after, forever and a day." A splendid (and kind-spirited) retelling of a well-known tale. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ Children's LiteratureDoes the world really need another book about Cinderella? Even if it is exhaustively researched and has flawlessly French illustrations? Feminists question the "happily ever after ending" with a handsome prince. Stepmothers get a bum rap. The father figure is emotionally absent in the presence of his new wife's abuse to his daughter, and the reality of same-sex parent families goes invalidated. It is inarguably a compelling story of treachery, deceit, and the triumph of good over evil. Although, this Charles Perrault version lacks the more satisfying retribution to the stepsisters that the Brothers Grimm relate. In any case--and according to the book jacket--there are several traditional accounts available from countries all over the world. Borrow an existing version from the library. Somewhere in the publishing industry, a fairy-godmother-editor has championed a novel story. Just like Cinderella, it is waiting on the shelf. Please buy that book instead. 2005, Scholastic, Ages 4 to 8. \ —Tina Dybvik\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalK-Gr 4-McClintock's faithful adaptation combines readable text and enchanting pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations filled with minute details of architecture and dress from the era of Louis XIV. The artist's aesthetic sense is evident in the layout of text and illustrations, for she has carefully placed pages of vignettes-some of them quite humorous-as "breathers" between the larger, more detailed spreads. The smoothly flowing story, lightened by snippets of conversation, has been divided so that each page has more white space and artwork than print. This fresh, appealing version of the perennial favorite belongs in every collection.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsMcClintock adapts Charles Perrault's version of the familiar tale, taking inspiration from the fashionable pretensions of the court of Louis XIV for her richly detailed watercolor and line illustrations. Her retelling is lively but economical, the better to allow the fulsome double-page spreads and episodic spot illustrations to reign. For several spreads, McClintock depicts two linked scenes. In one, Cinderella lies on a sleeping pallet in her crumbling upstairs garret while the two stepsisters, wielding hairbrushes and face cream, preen before a soaring, gilded mirror in their richly appointed bedchamber. While children will enjoy McClintock's tiny liberties with Perrault's narrative (Cinderella's godmother transforms the pumpkin with the magic words "FOOMUS BALOOMUS!"), they will be most apt to pore over the pictures, locating Cinderella's cat in the domestic scenes, noting the stepsisters' over-the-top coiffures and ball gowns and spotting the godmother, glowing wand in hand, as she observes from a distance Cinderella's garden wedding. Charming. (source note) (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8)\ \