Cinderella

Rating:
Summary: Detailed & gorgeous illustrations
Review: Fine oil paintings, Sanderson is definately improving her illustrative techniques.

The story has taken inspiration from a variety of fairy tales, with Cinderella asking for "the first twig which brushes against your hat on the way home, Father" (and what bit of inanity is that?!) Which she then plants and it turns into a fullgrown hazel tree. A bird roosts there and thereafter helps Cinders with her chores.
Fairy godmother duly appears (with irridescent wings) & summons dress, pumpkin coachmen, as usual. Story continues on in usual fashion, and ends happily ever after.

Other than the twig & bird, there is not a whole lot of improvisation, but that is fine, we need some traditional retellings of the old stories. It is staged with big hooped gowns & powdered wigs, buckled shoes and rich embroidery.

What is exceptionally fine about this book is the paintings. They really are gloriously done, and have none of the insipidity of some of Sanderson's other works, such as The Tempest or so on.

It seems that in allowing her style to be a little rougher, a little looser, artist has been able to express more freely the emotion moving her characters, and allow them more beauty than the simple faces usually portrayed. The control of lighting is excellent, and very pleasing.

kotori Dec 2004 - [e-mail]


Rating:
Summary: Not Ruth Sanderson's Best
Review: From the offset, this version of the Cinderella tale is a wonderful addition to any children's bookshelf - the story is traditional and the paintings are beautiful. However, if you're like me and are a big fan of Ruth Sanderson's illustrations, it doesn't take much to easily see that this is simply *not* her best work. Newcomers to Sanderson will see only colourful, elaborate paintings; fans will see the wide, obvious brushstrokes that she usually manages to conceal, the hasty composition of the paintings, and the frequent distortions of character's faces (many times Cinderella's nose shape changes from rounded to pointy, and her features often appear rather squished). The detail is also not as refined as in her other books, and within the context of the story Cinderella wears two dresses - one is written as being gold, but appears a rather ugly brown-yellow colour, and the other (that you can see on the title page) is so elabourate and wide it looks a bit garish.

But as I said before, a person will only notice these faults if they are experienced with Sanderson's work, and know that she has done a lot better in the past. For me, it feels as if she needed a quick paycheck, and so hurriedly slapped this book together. However, if this is your first Sanderson book, then your're in luck, because everything from this one is a step up!

In terms of the narrative, there are a few variations on the story, but overall it's your traditional tale. Like she did in her books 'The Crystal Mountain' and 'The Golden Mare, the Firebird and the Magic Ring', Sanderson mixes up two stories to make one (or in this case two *versions* of the same story) taking elements on the classic French version by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. This creates a fresh twist on the most well-known of tales - here Cinderella's father doesn't die, but is in fact held firmly under the reign of his new wife, and only comes to his daughter's defence at the end of the book. It also tells of Cinderella's planting of a hazel twig which grows within minutes to a tree and has a white bird land upon it (which is subtly implied to be her mother's spirit). This white bird (also seen on the title page, landing on Cinderella's hand) helps her with her chores, as do all the other birds of the garden, and at the conclusion attacks the stepmother and her daughters, never letting them exit the house (a little odd since Cinderella had just forgiven them all).

All in all, a good enough book, but I would recommend for parents searching for a 'Cinderella' tale for their children to choose instead the version by K. Y. Craft, which has much more detailed paintings. For a real look at Sanderson's skill with a paintbrush, I'd suggest 'The Enchanted Woods', which in my opinion is her best work.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: This has got to be one of the most beautiful picture books of the Cinderella story classic you can get. The illustrations are oil paintings, and the illustration on the cover is very special, depicting Cinderella in a gown of shimmering white, gold, and pink silk, surrounded by colorful songbirds, with swirls of "magical" glitter dancing around her. The story retold by Sanderson is a blending of different Cinderella stories featuring a magical hazel tree, a special white bird that changes into the beautiful fairy godmother (complete with fairy wings), and all the other more familiar elements including pumpkins, lizards, and mice that go through their magical transformations. Its a special book for your collection, whether you're young or just young at heart.

Rating:
Summary: an old tale in beautifull new pictures
Review: We all know the story of Cinderella, however, there were two things about this version that sets it apart from the many others of this oft-told tale.

First, the illustrations are exquisite oil paintings which bring a new magic to the story.

The second thing that makes a difference is the relationship between Cinderella & her father. In most other versions, the father loves her to pieces, & then dies. Thus he is unable to save Cinderella from her nasty step-mother. In this telling, the father does not die, he keeps his mouth shut about the way his daughter is treated, for fear of his new wife's anger. I thought it was an interesting twist.

To sum it up, this is one of the better & more realistic Cinderella stories