(4) K-3 Illustrated by Meg Park. There's little remarkable about Rylant's retelling of the old tale, except that she occasionally resorts to archaic sentence structure to lend a folkloric flavor ("There erupted then such a sound as to nearly stop the man's heart beating..."). Park's illustrations have some warmth but resemble cels from an animated film (though not the famous Disney production.) More beautiful editions of the story are available.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Erin McGuire. Rylant does an adequate job of telling the popular tale in her own words, with a unique spin on the lesson to be learned: "It just took Time." Whether that interpretation will satisfy readers is an open question. McGuire's cartoony digital illustrations are bland but inoffensive, though readers obsessed with princesses may long for more sparkle.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jen Corace. Adhering to traditional events, Rylant also nudges readers with explanations; these don't really improve the story, but Rylant handles them with grace. Corace uses a palette of deep greens and shadowed browns with touches of candy red. Her settings resemble dark, dramatically lit stage sets, and characters convey emotion adroitly.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Blair. Stripped of the cheer-amidst-the-ashes spin that marked the Disney movie, Rylant's emotional retelling, accompanied by romantic archival artwork from the designer who inspired the look of the Disney film, gets down to the gritty basics. Rylant's text proves a good match for Blair's impressionistic, spun-sugar scenes of gilded (except for the scullery) interiors and ethereally lit exteriors.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2008