Hilary Knight's Cinderella Book

It's hard to make a story as old and oft-told as Cinderella fresh again. Yet Hilary Knight, best known for his Eloise illustrations, manages to apply his unique wit and familiar illustrative style to the fairy tale while retaining the magic of the original story. Cinderella is lovely, of course, and her nasty sisters are pointy-nosed and outrageously vain. But Knight's depiction of Prince Charming provides a happy departure from tradition: he's pudgy and, well, kind of goofy looking. Modern readers will like Cinderella's slightly more brazen ways, too; although still demure, Cinderella steps right out of the kitchen when the prince arrives at her house with the glass slipper. "Let me try," she says, much to her stepmother and sisters' horror. Astute readers will enjoy picking up on subtle details: the tiny fairy godmother hiding under Cinderella's pumpkin-like stool, Cinderella's mother's gravestone in the front yard, and poor, beleaguered Cinderella's chore list next to the invitation to the Prince's ball. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterRead More