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Hopkinson, Deborah

Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred

48 pp. | Random/Schwartz | August, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780593480038 $18.99 | Library ISBN 9780593480045 $21.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593480052 $10.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. A fairly standard retelling changes course quickly when Cinderella storms out of the ball ("What a disaster!") declaring that the prince is a snob and her feet are killing her ("Seriously? Glass high heels?"). As her horse turns back into a mouse and the pumpkin coach cracks open on the road, "Ella" blithely kneels on the ground, picks out the seeds, and pockets them. "I'll find my own destiny, thank you very much"--and she does, with mouse pal Fred witness to it all. Zelinsky's humorous illustrations have fun with Cinderella's clown-like stepfamily and their ridiculous attempts to squeeze large feet into the tiny glass slipper. Ella, on the other hand, is depicted as a down-to-earth pumpkin farmer who soon finds true love with another like-minded farmer. The two women (yaaas!) marry and move to a small farm, where they grow spectacular pumpkins, in a truly satisfying fairy-tale ending. Hopkinson's enhanced retelling even adds a small pourquoi tale: "And that, dear readers, is the story of how fairytale pumpkins got their name." Sorry, Prince Charming--this revisionist tale ends quite happily without you.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

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