(Amazon.com)
Bibliographic Information
Jackson, Ellen. 1994. CINDER EDNA. Ill. by Kevin O'Malley. New York, NY: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. ISBN 0688123236
Plot and Critical Analysis
this Fractured Fairy Tale, of the classic Cinderella, Cinder Edna offers a new take on the fairy tale where the heroine thinks for herself and finds a modern "happily ever after." The lives of Cinderella and Cinder Edna mirror one another as they each care for their stepmother and stepsisters, go to a ball, and marry a Prince, but it is how they get to these moments that proves they are different. While Cinderella hopes for a fairy Godmother to give her a pretty dress and get her to the ball, her neighbor Cinder Edna hops on a bus in the gown she bought online. As Cinder Edna decides her actions and thinks independently, an element often neglected in the female characters in fairy tales, she learns to trust herself and do what will make her happy, which is a lesson all children could benefit from learning. The text is modern and humorous often throwing in ideas that will amuse children and parents alike. It goes on to prove that what we think we want, may not be the what will truly make us happy. Cinderella grows board of her life with a Prince she has nothing in common with, but Cinder Edna finds similar traits and hobbies with the Prince's brother Rupert as they marry and live in their cottage with solar heating. Cinder Edna is stronger, and smarter, than Cinderella and ends up far happier as her positive attitude is far more important than Cinderella's beauty. The overall message is to act for yourself and value the important things in life.
The storyline is more humorous and modern than the classic, but all the main details remain: cruel stepmother and sisters, fairy Godmother who comes with a carriage and dress but also a curfew, and the glass slipper that reunites a girl to her Prince. What begins as a night out away from the everyday lives, ends with one character finding her Prince and the other finding her partner. It is about the life and not the image. The attractive and powerful are not as happy as the realistic and good natured. It is a theme that children would benefit to hear over and over again that is evident in Cinder Edna, not by the ideas of the story dissected apart, but more how they connect and together share an important message.
Many cultures share the story of Cinderella, but this one may be more significant due to the modern fairy tale it shows of a young woman who is smart, self sufficient, and honest and can have it all - her work she loves and the man she loves. It is a longer picture book than others, but the storyline moves quickly and anyone who knows the story will be entertained by the parallels between these two females and the modern twists the author throws in for laughs. The illustrations are sharp in the characters expressions and fill each page with colorful supporting details to the plot.
Awards and Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Instead of glass slippers, Cinderella's neighbor Cinder Edna wears comfortable penny loafers to the ball, where she falls in love with the prince's goofy, tender-hearted younger brother. "Full of kid-pleasing jokes," said PW. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-This clever, double story follows the fates of two young women. Readers know Cinderella, who works all day, sits in the cinders, and needs her fairy godmother to get the ball moving. But Cinder Edna next door has used her spare time to learn 16 different ways to make tuna casserole and to play the accordian. She earns money by cleaning out parrot cages and mowing lawns, and can she tell jokes. When the dance is announced, she dons the dress she bought on layaway, takes the bus to the ball, and wears loafers for dancing. She wins the attention of Prince Randolph's younger but dorky brother, Rupert, who loves to dance and tell jokes, and runs the palace recycling plant. Both women dash off at the stroke of midnight. The two princes' plans for finding the owners of the lost glass slipper and the beat-up loafer are a hilarious contrast. Ella ends up, of course, with the vain, boorish Randolph. Edna moves into a solar-heated cottage, caring for orphaned kittens and playing duets with her husband Rupert. O'Malley's full-page, full-color illustrations are exuberant and funny. Ella is suitably bubble-headed and self-absorbed while Edna is plain, practical, and bound to enjoy life. Kids will love this version of the familiar story for its humor and vibrant artwork. Buy two copies-one to circulate and the other to hoard for story hours.
Susan Hepler, Alexandria City Public Schools, VA
Connections
I have always enjoyed learning how one idea, story, or song can be interpreted different. While this is easiest to understand by musicians covering the same songs, this is also fascinating to me with literature. Since each group of people have their legends and folktales, finding one such tale could create an eye opening experience to a child on how everything and everyone are connected. The similarities between people is the first way to get children to think beyond themselves. One could find all the Cinderella versions and do a comparison and fact sheet about each culture. Or allow children to take a basic story and rewrite it, modernizing it, or changing the hero. Creativity does not have to be brand new, but can take some elements from another source and then make them your own, a child's personal version of well recognized story could lead to literary exercises of reading other versions or writing a personal one.
Similar Readins:
Sleeping Bobby (Will Osborne): Another twist of a classic fairytale with a strong female character being the one to wake the Prince.
Leaping Beauty (Gregory Maguire): Offers a new twist on eight fairy tales with different animals as the lead characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment