Cinderella and the Furry Slippers - Picture Book Review

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 Cinderella and the Furry Slippers

written by Davide Cali

illustrated by Raphaelle Barbanegre

Tundra Books, October 10, 2017

I received a free ARC of this book to review

At a Glance

Type: 

Fairy tale picture book

Age Range: 

4-7 years old

Plot:

Cinderella hires a Fairy Godmother from a magazine ad to help her win the heart of the prince, but neither ends up quite like those in the magazines.

Pros:

• I love the illustrations
• I like the fresh take on an old story
• good talking points to start discussions, especially about what we see in ads vs. real life
• I like that the slippers are fur, not glass

Cons:

• I felt the ending could have been slightly tweaked (but I also LOVED the ending--read below)

Would I recommend this title:

Yes!

Full Review

I really enjoyed this book. For me, the illustrations hit it out of the park and are very funny. I am also a sucker for fresh twists on old fairy tales. But it is also nice that they kept the slippers fur, since that is the way they are in the original. I guess I'm a stickler for the little details.

I feel like there are a few princess stories out there where the princess decides to take a different path other than just marrying the prince. The things that sets this one apart is that it deals with the unrealistic expectations set up in the media and in advertising. Cinderella and her sisters see all these hunks in the magazines, and the real prince doesn't match up. I think it could be a great starter for talking about these types of things in the real world.

**Some mild spoilers beyond this point**

I absolutely love the last spread of this book with all the varied female characters.  I really enjoyed seeing the references to other fairy tale characters and their chosen vocations. For example, Red Riding Hood works as a wolf catcher. 

While I love the ending, I also have a small beef with it. Cinderella sees a sign advertising for a girl's only job fair and it says "Tired of Lame Princes? Sick of Pink Dresses?" This bothered me for two reasons. One, my daughter's favorite color is pink and she loves dresses. And she is also a strong, spunky girl. I like messages where girls can love pink and be successful. Two, the message of the book seems to be that what we see in magazines is unrealistic. But instead of being disgusted with the unrealistic prince ads, it hits home how lame real life princes are. 

I know that I am nitpicking here. And it certainly didn't derail the entire book. I do still think it has a positive message and is worth the read.