Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella

Author: Paul Fleischman

Illustrator: Julie Paschkis

Published: In 2007 by Henry Holt and Company

ISBN: 978-0805079531

Synopsis: 

      What do you think of when you read about a young girl, her stepmother, a prince and a shoe?  More than likely the first thing that comes to mind is the well known fairy tale of Cinderella and her glass slipper.  But did you know that this same story has been told in different countries around the world for generations?  Paul Fleischman and Julie Paschkis provide a glimpse at some of these distinct accounts to what, it turns out, is a universal tale in their book Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal.  Together, they create an international account of the well known story Cinderella.  The story is beautifully crafted like a patchwork quilt; it uses bits and pieces of Cinderella stories from seventeen different countries.  

 

My Reaction: 

      I love the illustrations in this book!  The use of color coding and unobtrusive labeling really aides the reader as they travel from country to country in this story.  Paschkis uses a unique color and culture specific elements (such as clothing style and items that suggest the country's environment) in each illustration to distinguish one country's prose from another. This makes the reader feel as if they are receiving snapshots from around the world.  However, despite the differences in setting and clothing from page to page, Paschkis is careful to maintain the same cartoon like style throughout this work.  This continuity reminds us that the basic story is the same and suggests that despite our cultural differences people are still people no matter where they live or how they dress.  This idea is similarly suggested through the illustration on the title page: a world surrounded by different types of shoes.  This drawing suggests that underneath our differences there are some basic similarities, such as the importance of the shoe in Cinderella.

   However, while reading this book a few questions did begin to pop into my head.  I wondered why the authors chose to use a region to identify only the Appalachia story, while country names where used to define all the others.  To me, this seems to suggest that there are different cultures within the United States but not within other countries.  Another question I found myself asking, was where are the lines from the story actually coming from? Are they adaptations or translations of direct lines from the original stories?  If so, where would I be able to find the original versions of these stories?  After all, because each line is handpicked for the story, it is difficult to really distinguish where the stories parallel and differ.  I'm really curious and wish the author had included more information about his research for this book.

   

My Rating (1-5 stars):

 

Still Curious: 

   On the look out for more Cinderella stories? Your search should start here:

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/other.html

   It is a website dedicated to Cinderella like stories (both traditional and modern).  Click on the book gallery and begin to browse through all the choices.