Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89506 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-04
• Released on: 2007-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Beneath its handsome William Morris–like cover art, this inspired retelling blends many versions of Cinderella into a single, extraordinary tale. As Newbery Medalist Fleischman's (Joyful Noise) strong storytelling voice incorporates sometimes small details from different traditions, text and illustrations nimbly morph from one Cinderella story to the next, creating this brand-new version. Paschkis (Yellow Elephant) makes use of folk art and textile patterns throughout the world in the clever background paintings behind each of her vibrant panel illustrations, and she helpfully and unobtrusively labels the country from which relevant borrowings originate. Generally, each page focuses on a single country's contributions, but even when details from several countries share a spread, visual harmony prevails and characters remain recognizable despite their costume changes. When Cinderella has nothing to wear, for example, a crocodile swam up to the surface—and in its mouth was a sarong made of gold [Indonesia]... a cloak sewn of kingfisher feathers [China]... a kimono red as sunset [Japan]. Even the last line of text is patched from several sources: Such a wedding it was, and such an adoring couple [Iraq]... and such a wondrous turn of events [Korea]... that people today are still telling the story. Paschkis emphasizes the storyteller's voice by beginning and ending the narrative with illustrations of a mother reading to her daughter—a daughter who, appropriately, looks much like Cinderella herself.Ages 5-up. (Sept.)
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From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 4—Capitalizing on the frequently made assertion that Cinderella is the most widely told folktale on earth, Fleischman and Paschkis have created a pan-cultural, universally pleasing interweaving of variants from 17 distinct cultures. This clever books reads nearly seamlessly and somehow manages to convey simultaneously the essential sameness of the story and the particularities of the different versions. Dressing for the royal shindig, our heroine, "…looked in her mother's sewing basket (Laos). Then she reached into the hole in the birch tree (Russia). Then a crocodile swam up to the surface—and in its mouth was a sarong made of gold (Indonesia)…a cloak sewn of kingfisher feathers (China)…a kimono red as sunset (Japan)." Paschkis's backgrounds to the text and gouache illustrations alert readers to the shifts in locale by the use of color-coding and of folk-art design motifs drawn from each culture until the final scene where costumes, dances, music, and cuisines from across the globe convene at a wedding so wondrous "that people today are still telling the story." Endings don't get any happier than in this global tour de force.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
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Review

Customer Reviews

Glass Slipper

Fleischman, Paul. Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. Henry Holt and Company. 2007.

This is a unique and lovely presentation of the Cinderella story that incorporates distinct elements from many different cultures into one cohesive version. The mean stepmother is first a nice widow who gives the Cinderella character various treats like "pan dulce and sugarcane. The beautiful double spread that accompanies this plot element is full of yellow folk art figures that are presented on a bright orange background and in the left corner, is the name of the culture that is represented, in this case Mexico. The daughter who is never named encourages her father to marry this nice woman but later she recalls her action and says, " I picked up the scorpion with my own hand", this insightful comment is part of the Iraqi Cinderella story. In a series of three panels, the story connects how a Russian cow gives the girl some honey, an Iranian fairy gives "her figs and apricots", and an Indian "Godfather Snake" gives her rice. The distinctive gouache illustrations blend harmoniously, often a richly colored inset stands out from a muted background that is filled with cultural symbols. The inside cover pages display landmass outlines with the locations of the countries that are represented, and an author's note not only mentions that the first Cinderella story likely appeared in "ninth-century China but also acknowledges his use of Judy Sierra's book, Cinderella (Oryx Press, 1992)." All libraries will want a copy of this innovative version of a universal tale. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

nice try...
this is the cinderella story, but each section of the story is taken from a different telling of cinderella from around the world. the idea's nice... but i don't think it worked out. instead of it being the story of cinderella it was a book saying that more than one country had the cinderella story... which is nice, but i'd prefer to have each of those stories told to me instead of having them all smushed together not being true to any of the stories but just delivering the general message they all share. each cinderella story is similar, but the story from each country does differ and therefore the stories are somewhat different, as each is being told through the eyes of a different culture and therefore places importance on different things. To me it feels like this story is trying to say 'we're all the same, all exactly the same' but i disagree with that, we're all different, and that's wonderful... so lets joyfully experience the difference instead of trying to make us all the same. needless to say i would have preferred a compilation of stories rather than smushing them all together and doing justice to none of them. i truly dislike this cardboard sense of multiculturalism and hope this author doesn't get his hands on any more like material.

A great message
One of my graduate school instructors recommended this book to my classmates and I as future educators. I thought that it was a beautiful book, wonderfully illustrated, and contains a positive message about global mentality and unity. While the story remains similar to the popular Disney version, it is an excellent tool to show children how such a story can be represented in all parts of the world. I loved it, and definitely look forward to reading it to my students and own children some day.