Cinderella

Cinderella Variants held by Christchurch Service Centre, National Library of New Zealand,
Cinderella has been with us in written form for more than a thousand years. Her story is first recorded as Yeh-Shien in ninth century China, but the basic ‘Poor girl (or boy) makes good’ theme is as old as time itself. French folklorist Charles Perrault’s 1697 publication brought the story the widespread European popularity it continues to have today, and provided the heroine with her definitive name—the French Cendrillon became Cinderella in English. Perrault added other touches of his own to the story, including the captivating ‘glass slipper’--once thought to have been a mistranslation of the French ‘vair’ (fur) as ‘verre’ (glass). This explanation has now been discredited; Perrault apparently used the image simply because he liked it, and the intriguing idea of a slipper made of glass is perhaps the single element that has given his Cinderella the edge over the more ethnic version later recorded by the Grimm Brothers. (The 1950 Walt Disney film makes wonderful use of elements from both versions). Perrault also made Cinderella a great deal more passive than the capable, enterprising figure she was in the original Oriental tale, and this helplessness remained a feature of Cinders’ character until feminist versions began appearing the the 1970s. Over the last three centuries the story has continued to grow and adapt to fit the changing times, appearing in forms as diverse as Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ and the 1990 film ‘Pretty Woman.’ Even our own Maui has some touches of Cinderella, shown most vividly in the graphic novel Legends of the outcast (Slane and Sullivan, 1996)
Note on Dewey numbers: Cinderella can be found anywhere in the 398 section of a library using the Dewey Decimal System. Probably the highest concentration is in the 398.20944 area (French folklore/mythology), but the universality of the theme takes her everywhere in the world

398 PER CinderellaRe-told by Paul Galdone. Traditional version, with delicately- coloured, flowing illustrations by the author. Cinderella goes to a ball on two successive nights, the Slipper Incident happening on the second (1978)

398.2 DEL CinderellaRe-told by David Delamere. Dramatic panoramic paintings by the author make this version, set in a slightly sinister 16th century Venice, one of the most visually striking in our collection [1993]

398.2 FLE Glass slipper, gold sandal : a worldwide CinderellaFleischman, Paul; ill. Julie Paschkis (2007)‘The author draws from a variety of folk traditions to put together this version of Cinderella, including elements from Mexico, Iran, Korea, Russia, Appalachia, and more.’

398.2 GER CinderellaRe-told by Adele Geras; ill. Gwen Tourret (1996)

398.2 HOO Moss GownThis traditional story from the American Deep South interestingly combines elements of both Cinderella and King Lear. William H. Hooks and artist Donald Carrick combine to present a haunted tale of witch-ridden swamps, Spanish moss, and pillared mansions, where Moss Gown/ Cinderella goes to the ball three times without losing a single slipper. She still gets the traditional happy ending though, this time with Young Master (1987)

398.2 KAR Cinderella (Ill. James Marshall)Marshall’s quirkily good-humoured illustrations blend perfectly with Barbara Karlin’s everyday language re-telling (1989)

398.2 PER CinderellaTranslated and ill. Diane Goode (1988)

398.208995942 COB Jouanah, a Hmong CinderellaAdapted by Jewell Reinhart Coburn with Tzexa Cherta Lee; ill. Anne Sibley O’Brien. This version from the Hmong people of Thailand gives Cinders a name that translates as ‘young orphan.’ As in many tellings of the story, including the Grimm Brothers’ version, there is no Fairy Godmother as such. Instead the spirit of Cinderella/ Jouanah’s real (but dead) mother uses the medium of enchanted birds or animals—in this case a cow—to talk to her and help her (1995)

398.20932 CLI The Egyptian CinderellaRe-told by Shirley Climo; ill. Ruth Heller. Cinderella in the land of the Pharaohs in Climo’s re-vamping of an ancient legend that mixes fact and fable (1989)


398.20932 PIR The golden slipper : an ancient Egyptian fairytale; and also CinderellaText by Saviour Pirotta; ill. Alan Marks. This edition combines the Egyptian version and Perrault’s interpretation in one volume, as part of the Once Upon a World series. The focus of this useful junior/primary level series is the pairing of well-known English language fairytales with similar stories from other cultures (2004)

398.209415 DAL Fair, Brown & Trembling : an Irish Cinderella storyRe-told and ill. Jude Daly. Traditional Irish tale loosely follows the Grimms’ version rather than Perrault’s. The title refers to the rather strange names of three sisters, of whom the youngest, Trembling, is the Cinderella figure. She pays three well-dressed visits to Mass, rather than to a ball, and several princes brawl over her hand in an interesting divergence from the usual story. However, she does lose and reclaim her slipper; and her decidedly plain older sisters are harshly punished for their unkindness (2000)

398.20941502 CLI The Irish CinderladText by Shirley Climo; ill. Loretta Krupinski . Unlike the previous Irish adaptation, this one changes Cinderella’s gender. Many cultures feature a ‘Cinderlad’, and these stories usually include elements of dragonslaying or similar deeds of daring ( Even Babette Cole’s fractured fairytale ‘Prince Cinders’ follows this line….sort of!) (1996)

398.20944 FRE CinderellaRe-told and ill. Fiona French (1988)

398.20944 MCC CinderellaRe-told and ill. Barbara McClintock. Perhaps best-known for her water-colour and sepia ink illustrations to Jim Aylesworth’s traditional fairy-tale re-tellings, McClintock has done the whole thing herself in this beautifully produced 2005 version. Inspired by a trip to Paris, she has based the royal palace on Versailles, and has dressed her characters lavishly in the Louis XIV styles of Perrault’s original. Unlike the similarly-clothed Craft Cinderella (see below) this version follows Perrault exactly—Cinders visits the ball once only, and forgives her mean sisters to the extent of arranging good marriages for them… though not, of course, as good as her own (2005)

398.20944 PER Cinderella : a creative tale…. (Ill. Roberto Innocenti)Innocenti’s setting is 1920s London. Interestingly, his stylish ‘flapper’ illustrations blend perfectly with a text virtually unchanged from Perrault’s 17th century original—a tribute to the enduring nature of the story (2000)

398.20944 PER CinderellaIll. Susan Jeffers. Established fairy tale illustrator Jeffers has embellished Amy Ehrlich’s 1985 text with elegant watercolour images (2004)

398.20944 PER Cinderella (Ill. Arthur Rackham)Re-told by C.S. Evans. The incomparably romantic Rackham illustrations highlight this lengthy (110p) version of the full Grimm-- multiple ball visits, dreadful punishments inflicted on the Ugly Sisters, etc. (1972)

398. 20944 ROB Cinderella : an art deco love story.Re-told by Lynn Roberts; ill. David Roberts. Simple text, extremely striking Art Deco illustrations ( see also Cinderella : a creative tale). Cinders uses a leek instead of a pumpkin to provide her transport. Originally known as Greta, she chooses to keep the nickname that has been bestowed on her…. [2001]

398.20944 RYL Walt Disney’s Cinderella, retold by Cynthia Rylant; pictures by Mary Blair. Strong emphasis on the search for Love (always spelt with a capital letter here) in this elegant version illustrated by Mary Blair (1911-1978) , who painted the original pictures for Walt Disney’s animated film, as well as for Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and many other Disney classics. (2007)

398.20944 WAD Cinderella
Re-told by Barrie Wade; ill. Julie Marks. Simplified version for beginning readers (2003)

398. 2094402 CIN Cinderella (ill. K.V. Craft)Lavishly illustrated, with characters wearing the elaborate court dress of Perrault’s early eighteenth century France, still the most traditional style for European Cinderellas. Follows mainly his version , but has some elements of the Grimm Brothers’ Aschenputtel (Ashputtle), in that a small bird rather than a Fairy Godmother helps Cinderella make it to the Ball—twice in this version (2000)

398.209567 HIC The golden sandal : a middle eastern Cinderella story Re-told by Rebecca Hickox; ill. Will Hillenbrand. This Iraqi tale overlaps with another traditional story The magic fish, more common in versions from Indo-China (1998)

398.209596 COB Angkat : the Cambodian Cinderella Re-told by Jewell Reinhart Coburn; ill. Eddie Flotte.A Cambodian version of the story, in which a poor girl marries a prince, is killed by her jealous stepfamily ( Oriental Cinderellas typically suffer a worse fate than mere bullying…) and, because of her virtue, is enabled to return from death to become queen. The Magic Fish motif again features here, as in the Vietnamese version below. The fact that the story was found by Dr Coburn in an 18th century French essay while researching Khmer culture and folklore hints at a possible route for Cinderella to have found her way from this former French colony to Perrault in Paris, and thence to world-wide fame (1996)

398.209597 CLA In the land of small dragon Told by Dang Manh Kha to Ann Nolan Clark; ill. Tony Chen. Both Magic Fish AND Fairy Godmother are needed to help Cam overcome the scheming of her evil stepmother and her lazy stepsister Tam. ( Tam and Cam’s story is told more fully in the collection The brocaded slipper and other Vietnamese tales re-told by Lynette Dyer Vuong (Reading, Mass.; Addison-Wesley, 1984) 398.2109597 VUO) (1979)

398.2097 JOH Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella Johnston, Tony; ill. James Warhola. ‘And her foot fit the clog like a seed in a pod.’ Sums up the distinctly ‘fractured fairytale’ tone of this cheerful North American take on the story, which carries a strong conservation message (1998)

398.20972982 SAN Cendrillon : a Caribbean Cinderella Text by Robert D. San Souci; ill. Brian Pinkney. Set in Martinique, the original Creole French traditional version has been expanded by San Souci to incorporate elements of West Indian culture and costume. Contains an interesting glossary of French Creole words and phrases (1998)

398. 20974 COM Ashpet : an Appalachian tale Re-told by Joanne Compton, ill. Kenn Compton. One of the rare English language versions that takes its title from the Grimm Brothers’ Aschenputtel, rather than Perrault’s Cendrillon. Set in the Appalachian Mountains of North America in the twentieth century, this is one of several versions in which the Cinders character is a servant, rather than any family connection to the unpleasant people with whom she lives. The Prince is here the son of the local doctor, the palace ball is a prayer meeting (see also Fair, Brown and Trembling), but all the essential elements of the story are retained (1994)

398.209789 POL The turkey girl : a Zuni Cinderella story Retold by Penny Pollock; ill. Ed Young. No happy ending here for a thoughtless Cinders who neglects her duty to her animal helpers. As in most Native American traditional tales, the conservation/ecology message is strong—Cinderella’s party clothes are re-cycled! (1996)

398.210942 GRE Tattercoats Re-told by Margaret Greaves; ill. Margaret Chamberlain. Combines Cinderella elements with a sanitised British version of the very dark tale known by Perrault as Donkeyskin (1990)

398.210976889 SCH Smoky Mountain Rose : an Appalachian CinderellaText (all in dialect) by Alan Schroeder; ill. Brad Sneed. Another Cinders from Appalachia but, unlike Ashpet (see above) this one follows the Perrault tradition (1997)

Cecily Fisher. Updated 26/09/08

Fractured Fairytale versions of Cinderella—a selective list (because these keep some elements of the original story but build on them extensively with the author’s creative imagination, they are generally classified as fiction)

Picture Books:
PICT ALL Allan, Nicholas Cinderella’s bum
PICT BAT Bateson Hill, Margaret; ill. Karin Littlewood Chanda and the mirror of moonlight (a version from India)
PICT COL Cole, Babette Prince Cinders (also available on video)
PICT DIC Dickinson, Trevor; ill. Emma Carlow Kitty Princess and the newspaper dress (2004)PICT DON Donaldson, Julia; ill. Liz Pichon Spinderella (early reader)
SPICT ELL Ellwand, David; ill. Christine Tagg Cinderlily : a floral fairy tale
PICT HUG Hughes, Shirley Ella’s big chance : a fairytale retold
PICT JUN Jungman, Ann; ill. Russell Ayto Cinderella and the hot air balloon (1992/2007)
PICT KET Ketteman, Helen Bubba the cowboy prince : a fractured Texas tale
PICT MED Meddaugh, Susan Cinderella’s rat
PICT MIT Mitchell, Marianne Joe Cinders
PICT PER Perlman, Janet Cinderella Penguin, or the little glass flipper
PICT THO Thomas, Joyce Carol The gospel Cinderella

Fiction titles:
FIC ANH Anholt, Laurence Cinderboy
FIC LEV Levine, Gail Carson Ella enchanted
FIC NAP Napoli, Donna Jo Bound

As with the versions held in the 398 subject area, there are many more of these stories to be found as part of collected works—Roald Dahl deserves particular mention for the way he treats the poor girl in his Revolting rhymes (827 DAH)! I have concentrated here on individual titles held by the Christchurch Service Centre of the National Library.

Some useful websites:http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/cinderella.html

www.ala.org/BookLinks/v09/cinderella.html

Cecily Fisher updated 26/09/08

Children from other Cultures

Aiono-Josefa, Sarona; ill. Bruce Potter. The pipi swing (Samoan family in New Zealand) 2007

Alalou, Elizabeth and Ali; ill. Julie Klear Essakalli .The butter man (Morocco) 2008

Alexander, Lloyd; ill. Trina Schart Hyman. The fortune-tellers (Cameroon, West Africa) 1992

Alexander, Sue; ill. Geirges Lemoine. Leila (Bedouin) 1986

Ashley, Bernard; ill. Derek Brazell. Cleversticks (Chinese in Britain) 1991

Bateson Hill, Margaret; ill. Karin Littlewood. Chanda and the mirror of moonlight (India) 2003

Beake, Lesley; ill. Karin Littlewood. Home now (Africa) 2007

Bercaw, Edna Coe. Halmoni’s day (Korea—1950s) 2000

Brett, Jan. Daisy comes home (China) 2002

Bridges, Shirin Yim; ill. Sophie Blackall. Ruby’s wish (China) 2002

Bunting, Eve; ill. Chris Soentpiet. Jin Woo (Korean American) 2001

Cheng, Andrea; ill Ange Zhang. Grandfather counts (Chinese American) 2000

Cherry, Lynne and Mark J. Plotkin. The shaman’s apprentice : a tale of the Amazon rain forest

Chinn, Karen; ill. Cornelius Van Wright and Ying- Hwa Hu. Sam and the lucky money (China) 1995

Choi, Yangsook. Peach heaven (Korea) 2005

Conway, David. Lila and the secret of rain (Kenya) 2007

Coste, Marion; ill. Yong Chen. Finding Joy (China) 2006

Cumberbatch, Judy; ill. Ken Wilson-Max Can you hear the sea? (West Africa) 2006

Cummings, Mary; ill. Lin Wang Three names of me (China) 2006

Cunnane, Kelly; ill. Ana Juan For you are a Kenyan child 2005

Daly, Niki Pretty Salma (Ghana) 2006

Donaldson, Julia; ill. Joel Stewart The magic paintbrush (China) 2003

Dunstan, Kylie Collecting colour (Australian aboriginal culture) 2008

Foreman, Michael Mia’s story : a sketchbook of hopes and dreams (Colombia) 2006

George, Jean Craighead; ill. Ted Rand Nutik, the wolf pup (Inuit) 2001

Grossman, Patricia; ill. Enrique O. Sanchez Saturday market (Mexico) 1994

Hagbrink, Bodil The children from Tibet : the story of a family from the remotest land on earth 1990

Hall, Bruce Edward; ill. William Low Henry and the kite dragon (Chinese American) 2004

Hanson, Regina; ill. Harvey Stevenson The tangerine tree (Jamaica) 1995

Hedderwick, Mairi Katie Morag and the dancing class (Scotland—Hebrides) 2007

Ho, Minfong; ill. Holly Meade Peek! A Thai hide-and-seek 2004

Hoffman, Mary; ill. Karin Littlewood The colour of home (Somalia) 2002

Hughes, Monica; ill. Luis Garay A handful of seeds (Mexico) 1993

Isadora, Rachel At the crossroads (apartheid- era South Africa) 1991; A South African night 1998

Joosse, Barbara M.; ill. Giselle Potter Ghost wings (Mexico) 2001

Jungman, Ann; ill.Shelley Fowles The most magnificent mosque (Islamic Spain) 2004

Kessler, Cristina; ill. Walter Lyon Krudop My great-grandmother’s gourd (Sudan) 2000

Kitamura, Satoshi Stone Age boy 2007

Klaassen, Sandra Uan the little lamb (Scotland--Hebrides) 2005

Krishnaswami, Uma; ill. Soumya Sitaraman Chachaji’s cup 2003;
ill. Jamel Akib Monsoon 2003; Bringing Asha home 2006 (India)

Lee, Huy Voun At the beach (China—includes Chinese characters) 1994

Lee-Tai, Amy; ill. Felicia Hoshino A place where sunflowers grow (Japanese American—includes Japanese characters) 2006

Lewin, Ted The storytellers (Morocco) 1998

Li, Cunxin; ill. Anne Spudvilas The peasant prince (the true story of Mao’s last dancer—China) 2007

Lipp, Frederick; ill. Jason Gaillard Running shoes (Cambodia) 2006

Lynch, David et al Armando and the blue tarp school (Mexico) 2007

Lo, Ginnie; ill. Beth Lo Mahjong all day long (China—includes Chinese characters) 2005

Long, Don; ill. Vivienne Lingard The lacquered box (Vietnamese New Zealand) 2004

Look, Lenore; ill. Yumi Heo Henry’s first-moon birthday (Chinese American) 2001

Louis, Catherine Liu and the bird : a journey in Chinese calligraphy 2006

McCourt, Frank; ill. Raul Colon Angela and the Baby Jesus (Ireland) 2007

Manos, Helen; ill. Max Maxfield Lucky baby yak (Tibet) 2007

Manushkin, Fran; ill. Holly Berry How Mama brought the spring (Belarus) 2008

Marin, Gabiann; ill. Jacqui Grantford A true person (unspecified nationality—refugee immigrant to Australia) 2007

McMillan, Bruce; ill. Gunnella How the ladies stopped the wind (Iceland) 2007

Nash, Deborah Made in China 2004

Norrington, Leonie; ill. Dee Huxley You and me : our place (Australian Aboriginal) 2008

Ormerod, Jan Water witcher (Australia) 2006

Ravishankar, Anushka; ill. Emanuele Scanziani To market! To market! (India) 2007

Recorvitis, Helen; ill. Gabi Swiatkowska My name is Yoon (Korean American) 2003

Russell, Barbara Timberlake; ill. Claire B. Cotts The remembering stone (Costa Rica) 2004

Schur, Maxine Rose; ill. Brian Pinkney Day of delight : a Jewish Sabbath in Ethiopia 1994

Sellier, Marie; ill. Catherine Louis; Chinese characters by Wang Fei The legend of the Chinese dragon 2007

Shea, Pegi Deitz; ill. Leane Morin The carpet boy’s gift (Pakistan) 2003

Stanton, Karen; ill. Rene King Moreno Papi’s gift (Mexico) 2007

Stock, Catherine Where are you going Manyoni? (Zimbabwe) 1993

Suzuki, David and Ellis, Sarah; ill. Sheena Lott Salmon forest (Canada) 2003

Thong, Roseanne; ill. Yangsook Choi Gai See : what you can see in Chinatown 2007

Trottier, Maxine; ill. Al Van Mil The tiny kite of Eddie Wing (China) 1996

Uegaki, Chieri; ill. Stephane Jorisch Suki’s kimono 2003

Vander Zee, Ruth and Sneider, Marian; ill. Bill Farnsworth Eli remembers
(Lithuanian Jewish—Sophisticated Picture Book, senior content) 2007

Villanueva, Marie; ill. Ria Unson Nene and the horrible math monster (Filippina American) 1993

Vyner, Tim World team (many different cultures) 2001

Williams, Karen Lynn and Mohammed, Khadra; ill. Doug Chayka Four feet, two sandals (Afghanistan; Pakistani refugee camp) 2007

Williams, Laura E.; ill. Eujin Kim Neilan The best winds (Korea) 2006

Williams, Mary; ill. R. Gregory Christie Brothers in hope : the story of the lost boys of Sudan (Sophisticated Picture Book) 2005

Winter, Jeanette Angelina’s island (Jamaica) 2007

Yaroshevskaya, Kim; ill. Luc Melanson Little Kim’s doll (1930s USSR) 1999

Yi, Hu Yong Good morning China 2007

Young, Ed I, Doko : the tale of a basket (Nepal) 2004;
My mei mei (China- adoption) 2006

Ziefert, Harriet; ill. Santiago Cohen Home for Navidad (Mexico) 2003

Cecily Fisher (updated 18-10-07)


Full bibliographic details of these books are available from the National Library’s online catalogue at http://nlnzcat.natlib.govt.nz