Module 3-Cinderella and Rapunzel

Book Info:
Cinderella and the Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault. Illustrated by Marcia Brown. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1997.

Summary:
It's the classic story of a sweet and virtuous girl named Cinderella who is kept from the ball by her wicked Stepmother and Stepsisters. However, thanks to a Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is able to attend the ball and win the heart of the Prince, though she forgets her Fairy Godmother's warning to leave the ball before midnight. Though it seems that her fun is to be short-lived, the Prince seeks out the girl who won his heart using the glass slipper she left behind, determined to find her if he has to try it on every girl in the kingdom's foot.
My Take:
I really liked this take on the fairy tale. While still maintaining the Perrault version of the story, Marcia Brown creates a new story by imbuing the book with
almost juvenile illustrations. They're an interesting mash-up of subtle and yet specific ink lines mixed with smudges of color that almost look like they're from a kid's coloring book (albeit a very talented kid's coloring book). The illustrations look deceptively simple, which would no doubt appeal to children as they almost look like drawings the kids themselves could do and yet are still lively and relate to the story as to keep kids interested as it works with the text of the story. While not much of the story was changed, the illustrations make this a worthwhile read for anyone who likes fairy tales and wants some very rich and interesting illustrations to accompany their favorite stories.

Reviews:From the Publisher
Cinderella...or The Little Glass Slipper
There is perhaps no better loved, no more universal story than CINDERELLA. Almost every country in the world has a version of it, but the favorite of story-tellers is the French version by Charles Perrault.
This translation is excellent for storytelling and also reading aloud. Marcia Brown's illustrations are full of magic and enchantment from the little cupids putting back the hands of the clock to the last scene at the palace. They are pictures that will stay in a child's mind.

Children's Literature
It was Charles Perrault who, as the book jacket points out, compiled the collection of fairytales that included Cinderella, Bluebeard, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and The Sleeping Beauty. This is a translation from the French, which has attempted to retain the essence of the original while making the classic story of the lovely and virtuous Cinderella accessible to the readers of today. The story of the harsh treatment of Cinderella by her cruel stepmother and hateful stepsisters is familiar. In this version, Cinderella leaves the ball at a quarter to twelve. It is when she attends a second ball that she forgets the promise she made to her fairy godmother. Cinderella dances the whole night away with the prince until the clock strikes twelve. When her secret is found out, Cinderella's stepsisters beg for forgiveness and she is able to totally forgive them.

 
Suggestions:
Given that this version is fairly faithful to the version most children are familiar with, this would be a great book to use for a storytelling event, especially with its rich and beautiful illustrations. It could also be used for a book talk or discussion group with teens if you were looking at different representations of classic fairy tales, especially from an art perspective.

 Book Info:
Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky (adapted from the story by The Brothers Grimm). Penguin Group, 2002.

Summary:
After a longing for rapunzel from a sorceress's garden, a husband and wife barter away their unborn daughter to save their lives, agreeing to let the sorceress take her away and bring her up as her own. The sorceress imprisons the girl she names Rapunzel in a tall tower with no doors or stairs, only a high window. As Rapunzel has a mass of long hair, the sorceress uses it to climb up and down from the tower. One day a prince passes by the tower and hears Rapunzel singing up in the tower, but he cannot fathom how to reach her until he witnesses how the sorceress gets into the tower. He begins to visit Rapunzel, marrying her in secret, which eventually leads to the sorceress discovering their perfidy when she figures out that Rapunzel is pregnant. The sorceress banishes the pregnant Rapunzel from the tower and then blinds the prince, leaving them to wander around a barren wasteland until they can find each other again.

My Take:

Though Zelinsky doesn't really do much for the original story, the illustrations are beautiful (despite the illustrator's self-deprecating comments in the end-notes) and really capture that Italian Renaissance feel that Zelinsky was going for. Every time I turned a page I expected to feel the texture of oil paint, the illustrations were so rich. I understood perfectly why this book was chosen for the Caldecott award, especially as it not only beautifully illustrated this classic story but might also interest its young readers in classic art and history from the Renaissance period. This is a book that, while appropriate for younger children, will probably be better understood and appreciated by older readers, including adults. It is interesting in that it uses parts of the story which are usually left out (such as the secret marriage and pregnancy), which can provide new insights into the story for readers only familiar with the more commonly known version.



Reviews:

Booklist

( November 15, 1997 ; 0-525-45607-4 )

Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. After his wildly exuberant illustrations for Anne Isaacs' tall tale Swamp Angel (1994), Zelinsky turns to the formal beauty of Italian Renaissance art as the setting for his glowingly illustrated version of an age-old story. And, like Donna Jo Napoli's YA novel Zel (1996), this story is as much about the fierce love of mother for child as it is about the romantic passion between the imprisoned Rapunzel and the prince. Drawing on the Grimms' and earlier versions of the tale, Zelinsky begins with a childless couple, who are thrilled when the wife finally becomes pregnant. She develops a craving for the herb rapunzel, and when her husband is caught stealing it for her, the sorceress makes a terrifying bargain: if she can have the baby, she will allow the wife to live. The stepmother raises Rapunzel, "seeing to her every need," then locks her in a tower away from the world. Only the sorceress can enter the tower, by climbing Rapunzel's flowing hair. Then one day, the prince hears Rapunzel sing, falls in love with her, and learns to climb into the castle. They marry secretly. When Rapunzel becomes pregnant, the furious sorceress drives Rapunzel out, cuts off her hair, and blinds the prince. The lovers wander separately in the wilderness, where Rapunzel gives birth to twins; then the couple find each other, her tears make him see, and they come home to the prince's court. The rich oil paintings evoke the portraits, sculpture, architecture, and light-filled landscapes of Renaissance art. The costumes are lavish, the interiors intricate. Rapunzel is both gorgeous and maidenly. The sorceress is terrifying: the pictures also reveal her motherliness and her vulnerability, especially in the two double-page narrative paintings that frame the drama. One shows the sorceress taking the baby--and we see how she lovingly cradles it in her arms; in the climactic painting, when Rapunzel, the prince, and their children find each other, the whole natural world of rock and sky and tree seem to close around them in a loving embrace. Children--and adults--will pore over the intricate detail and glowing colors; they will also be moved by the mysterious tale of nurture and passion and terror. --Hazel Rochman

Suggestions:
This book would be great in a storytelling session given its brilliant and rich illustrations. It would also be worthwhile to share this with any students who have an interest in art and wish to experience different styles in a fun and easy way.