CINDERELLA AND THE FURRY SLIPPERS by Davide Cali & Raphaëlle Barbanègre

I love modified fairy tales, but what I love even more is when they have strong girls at the heart of the story.

Summary from the publisher:

Handsome princes, fancy castles, extravagant balls . . . in this girl-power fractured fairy tale, Cinderella learns that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is, and it’s better to create your own happy ending.

Cinderella is dying to go to the ball. She’s seen pictures of the fancy castle and the handsome prince, she’s heard the fairy tales about true love, she’s found the perfect dress in Princess magazine and she’s even found an ad for a Fairy Godmother. She’s all set.

Except the fairy godmother doesn’t look like the one in the ad. And the castle doesn’t look like the picture. And the prince . . . well, Cinderella decides her fairy-tale ending is going to look different–and be a whole lot more fun.

Cinderella and the Furry Slippers was written by Davide Cali and illustrated by Raphaëlle Barbanègre. It was published in 2017 by Tundra Books.

Opening:

Once upon a time there was a poor little girl named Cinderella who lived with a terrible stepmother and two even worse stepsisters.

She spent her days housecleaning while her awful stepmother and stepsisters had tea and cake.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

This humorous take on the traditional fairy tale shows a strong female character who makes her own decisions. The author has created an engaging voice for the story and provided us with a non-traditional ending that leaves some room for speculation.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

This is a nice choice for showing students that princesses can be strong and make their own decisions—and maybe even try a different job.  It would be interesting to compare and contrast this with a traditional version of the story.

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: PreK – Grade 2

Themes: princesses, fractured fairy tales, careers

Activities:

Discuss: What is your favorite page in the story? Why?

Draw/Write: What new job do you think Cinderella decided to try? Draw and write about it.

Draw or write a story to show what happens next!

Learning from Picture Books – LITTLE RED by Bethan Woollvin

I really loved this - so succinct and clever in the way it plays with the traditional fairy tale. But be warned. It's a little dark, especially the ending!

Summary from the publisher:

Little Red Riding Hood meets a wolf on her way through the woods to visit her sick grandmother. The wolf is hungry, and Red Riding Hood looks tasty, so he hatches a dastardly plan, gobbles up Grandma and lies in wait. So far, so familiar. But this Little Red Riding Hood is not easily fooled, and this big bad wolf better watch his back. In this defiant interpretation of the traditional tale, the cheeky, brave little girl seizes control of her own story (and the wolf gets rather more than he bargained for).

The perfect gift for fans of darker fairy tales, complete with tree-shaped cover flaps that make this a sumptuous sight to behold.

Little Red was written by and illustrated by Bethan Woollvin. It was published in 2016 by Two Hoots.

Opening:

“One day, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother called to her.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

I really loved this clever take on a classic story. With just the original characters and a simple text, the author has created a darkly humorous and very entertaining story. I loved the repetition of “Which might have scared some little girls. But not this little girl.” The careful use of colour (black, white and red) and size really enhances the darker moments in the text. The importance of the expressions shown in the character eyes reminded me of the “Hat” books by Jon Klassen. 

I’d study this one carefully to see how the text leaves room for the illustrations, and also how the text and illustrations leave room for reader interpretation.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

Although I really admired this one, I think it might be a bit scary for a couple of my younger kindergarteners. For slightly older kids, it would be great to contrast this book with the classic story and highlight Little Red’s more progressive and active role in dealing with the wolf.

Ages: 3 - 6

Grades: K - 3

Themes: fairy tales, fears, self-confidence

Activities:

Create puppets to represent the grandmother, wolf and Little Red and act out the story.

Draw a picture to show what Little Red’s plan might have looked like.

Why do you think the author left out the woodsman character from the original story? Discuss. 

Learning from Picture Books – LITTLE RED AND THE VERY HUNGRY LION

I really love fractured fairy-tales and this one was a lot of fun!  I especially liked the safari theme and the confidence and creativity of Little Red.

Summary from the Publisher:

Little Red sets off to visit her auntie who is poorly. She walks under the giraffes, over the sleepy crocodiles, past the enormous elephants and the chattering monkeys. Then a Very Hungry Lion approaches Little Red, wanting to gobble her up. But despite all the cunning plans by Lion, Little Red outsmarts him and soon has him saying sorry and eating doughnuts instead.

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion was written and illustrated by Alex T. Smith. It was published in 2016 by Scholastic Press.

Opening:

“This is Little Red. Today she is going to be gobbled up by a lion.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

I liked the humorous tone of the story. It drew me in right away and set up an expectation that the Lion might be tricked. I loved Little Red’s personality, and how she set out to get back at the Lion – her ideas were a lot of fun and offered lots of possibilities for the illustrations.

The illustrations were interesting from a design perspective, since some of the pages were divided in unexpected ways. I liked the bright, fun colours that fit the safari theme, and details like the antics of Little Red’s tiny goat.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

A good story for a read aloud. I really enjoyed all the animals Little Red met along her way, which could be paired with non-fiction books for additional learning. I also really liked the plan the lion made – this could be a model for students to use when making their own plan. 

What I liked most of all were the fun story twists and the boldness of Red's character. It would be interesting to compare her actions to the Red Riding Hood in a more traditional version of the story. I wondered, though, if the idea of being eaten might be a little scary for preschoolers.

Ages: 5 - 8

Grades: K - 3

Themes: fairy tales, safari, Africa

Activities:

With a partner, make some props and act out the story! How do you think each character feels?

Read a traditional version of Little Red Riding Hood. Compare the stories and find similarities and differences.

Find out about one of the animals Little Red meets on her way to Auntie’s house. 

Make a funny poster to show how it might escape the Lion.

Look through the book and find details that the author/illustrator used to show that the story takes place in Africa.