Cinderella: The Graphic Novel Retold by Beth Bracken (Illustrated by Jeffrey Stewart Timmins)

Published in 2009
Traditional Literature

Cinderella: The Graphic Novel retold by Beth Bracken is another modern day version of this classic fairy tale that, I believe, would be enjoyed by all ages. The book is based primarily on Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's version of Cinderella (Ashputtle). It opens with a "Cast of Characters" and, at first, seems as if it will read more like a play than a typical graphic novel or book: The evil stepsisters, the evil stepmother, the prince, the fairy godmother, and of course Cinderella, all appear in the story; however, Cinderella goes by the name Ella in this version.

Unlike some versions, Cinderella's father actually appears in this story, and there are panels where Cinderella visits her mother's grave when she is sad and lonely. One scene, in particular, contrasts Cinderella and her stepmother and stepsisters' character. When Cinderella's father announces he is going to the city and asks what he should bring home for his wife and daughters, her stepmother says, "Dresses! As many as you can fit into your carriage!" The stepsisters, in turn, request, "Jewels! As many jewels as you can fit into your pockets!" Cinderella simply asks her father to bring him the first twig that knocks against his hat on his way home (Bracken 10).

Several "miserable" days later Cinderella's father returns home bearing gifts for his wife and two newest daughters and a hazel twig for his dear Cinderella. The evil stepsisters make fun of Cinderella because of her simple request, but when she plants the twig on her mother's grave, it grows into a "handsome" tree that buds with leaves and becomes a home to many kinds of birds, which later play a significant role in the story.

When the king issues a proclamation that there will be a ball, Cinderella's evil stepmother makes a deal with her. She dumps a bowl of seeds into the ashes of their fireplace and explains to Cinderella that she may go to the ball only if she completes the "impossible" task of picking every seed out of the ashes and placing them back into the bowl. Realizing she will not be able to complete the task, Cinderella rushes to the tree on her mother's grave and pleas with the birds nesting in its branches to help her.

Miraculously, the birds complete the task, but Cinderella's evil stepmother still won't allow her to attend the ball. Similar to other versions of this classic fairy tale, Cinderella's fairy godmother comes to the rescue, and Cinderella does attend the ball. The prince falls in love with her immediately, and they dance for hours. At the stroke of midnight, Cinderella, once again, loses a glass slipper as she flees the scene. In this story, however, it is not a duke who searches for the mysterious maiden; it is the prince himself. We all know how the story ends. Ella and the prince marry and live happily ever after.  However, in a unique twist to the ending of this version, Cinderella's stepsisters are punished for their wickedness in a humorous way. Her stepmother yells, "Run!" as her stepsisters are chased into the distance by Cinderella's protectors, the birds.

The illustrations are what make this version of Cinderella truly unique. They appear in a mixture of light and dark brown colors, with light shades of brown gradually becoming darker as the colors bleed out to the ends

Inside Panel

of each page and panel. The colors represent a sad, ominous tone to the story. The cover is another indication of this sad tone. Cinderella and her stepsisters' appear with their eyes closed and looking down; however, there is a tiny glimpse of hope. Cinderella is placed in the forefront, and there is a tall stick with a bird sitting on it that separates Cinderella from her evil stepsisters.

Also, the background scenes where Cinderella is seen attending the ball are bright white, signifying this joyful occasion in Cinderella's otherwise "miserable" life. Although this comic book version of this classic fairy tale is unusual and may seem strange at first, it grows on the reader as the story unfolds. The unique twists and turns in this version make it quite interesting.

At the end of the book, Bracken provides a section about the author and illustrator, a glossary, a brief history of the story of Cinderella, as well as discussion questions and writing prompts that would be helpful to any teacher who chooses to use this book in the classroom.

I believe readers of all ages would enjoy reading this version of Cinderella. I sure did!

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The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle (Pura Belpre Award Winner)

Published in 2008
Poetry Collection

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle is a Pura Belpre Award winning historical novel that is divided into five parts and includes a series of poems written in first person point-of-view. Although there are no illustrations, the book is easy and enjoyable to read because of its poetic structure. Engel begins her book with the following historical notes:

"On October 10, 1868, a handful of Cuban plantation owners freed their slaves and declared independence from Spain. Throughout the next three decades of war, nurses hid in jungle caves, healing the wounded with medicines made from wild plants."

"On February 16, 1896, Cuban peasants were ordered to leave their farms and villages. They were given eight days to reach 'reconcentration camps' near fortified cities. Anyone found in the countryside after eight days would be killed."

"My great-grandparents were two of the refugees" (Opening Page).

The two main characters in the story, Rosa and Jose, who eventually marry as the plot unfolds, established and served as nurses in make-shift hospitals that were forced to move from place to place and were often hidden in forests or caves during these wars. This book is about their experiences; however, Engle notes, "So little is known about the daily routines of Rosa and Jose that I have taken great liberties in imagining their actions, thoughts, and feelings" (161). The actual Lieutenant Death, who appears in the story as the antagonist, calls the rebels "little witches" and sought to kill them in real life. Only two of the characters are purely fictional: Silvia and the oxcart driver.

Although this book is beautifully written, I found it difficult to read and write about because I lack a good understanding of Cuban history. As I read each poem, I had so many questions: Who were these people? What were these wars truly about? How does Communism fit into the picture? What is going on in Cuba today? And why have so many Cubans fled their country to come to America? Why didn't things get better after three decades of war?

Without the author's note, the historical note, and the chronology at the end of the book, I wouldn't have had a clue as to what was going on in the story. A great deal of historical research would have to be done in order for this book to be truly meaningful for its readers, especially for children or young adults. This is the kind of novel that would have to be read and reread several times to truly understand its meaning.

It is obvious this book holds a special place in the heart of the author because she dedicated the book in memory of her maternal great-grandparents who survived the wars, but I believe it would be difficult for young people to place this book in its historical context. However, this book could be used to encourage students to learn more about Cuba and its history. Curious students who love history and would be willing to spend the necessary time conducting research would find this book fascinating.

Margarita Engle
Pura Belpre Award

In Memory of Leanne Bearden: Update

I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Leanne Bearden. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I know the past four weeks have been devastating for your family as you have prayed for and have searched for Leanne. May God be with you through this difficult time.

Sincerely,
Catherine Fisher

Update: Leanne's Death Ruled a Suicide
CNN Breaking News About Leanne Bearden
Leanne Bearden's Travel Blog

Walt Disney's Cinderella Retold by Cynthia Rylant (Pictures by Mary Blair)

Published in 2007
Traditional Literature

Walt Disney's Cinderella retold by Cynthia Rylant is a modern day version of the classic story Cinderella. The unframed illustrations throughout the book are actually pictures by Mary Blair, one of Walt Disney's "most brilliant conceptual designers." Mary Blair, who was born in 1911 and died in 1978, "helped define the look of such classics as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan during her thirty-four years as an artist with the company. In addition to her work on animated films, Blair brought her unique style to children's books, advertisements, theatrical set designs, and theme park attractions. She remains one of the most respected artists in the history of animation" (back book cover jacket). The illustrations are really what make this picturebook special. They are pictures readers would be very familiar with if they have seen any of Walt Disney's cartoon classics.

Rylant's retelling of the story is basically the same as the classic version of Cinderella, except in a few instances. The opening lines reveal her primary focus: "THIS IS A STORY about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about Love." In this version, Cinderella wishes for only one thing: Love, and Rylant makes this clear at the very beginning. 

The wicked stepmother and stepsisters still despise Cinderella and try to prevent her from going to the ball, but her fairy godmother, once again, comes to the rescue and turns a pumpkin into a coach, four mice into horses, and a "child of rags [becomes] a vision." As Cinderella rushes off to the ball with a promise of returning at midnight, one question stands alone on a golden page: "Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world?"

Cinderella does, in fact, make it to the ball. She and the young prince fall in love and dance the night away until the clock strikes midnight. Then Cinderella remembers her promise, takes one last glance at her prince, and runs away losing one of her glass slippers on the palace steps. A massive search begins in the kingdom for the beautiful woman who captured the prince's heart. The duke is sent out "on an order from the palace" and goes from house to house searching for the lovely maiden. When the duke arrives at Cinderella's home, her stepmother will not allow Cinderella to speak to the duke or try on the slipper. However, in this modern day version of the tale, Cinderella takes matters into her own hands.

As the duke turns to leave, Cinderella appears at the top of the stairs and softly but boldly asks, "May I try on the slipper?" Unlike other versions, this duke is clumsy and drops the glass slipper to the floor, and it shatters into a thousand pieces. Cinderella calmly explains to the duke that all is well. She has the other slipper, and as the duke slips her foot into it, the shoe fits! Cinderella returns to the palace "where Love had always been waiting," the prince takes her in his arms, and they live happily ever after.

I like this version, because unlike earlier versions, Cinderella is beautiful, soft-spoken, and humble, but when it really matters, she is strong. She doesn't allow her wicked stepmother to control her life any longer and takes matters into her own hands. She takes charge, and her life changes dramatically. She has finally won the Love she has always longed for.

Mary Blair

Cynthia Rylant

Children and adults alike will never tire of the story of Cinderella. Even though there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of versions of this story told around the world, the story will always speak to the heart: The one thing we all long for is Love.

                                                                                         

                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Cynthia Rylant's Official Website

Mary Blair Gallery
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Erika's Story by Ruth Vander Lee (Illustrated by Roberto Innocenti)

Published in 2003
Picturebook / Historical Fiction

Erika's Story is a nonfiction picturebook, or biography, that tells the powerful story of Erika, a German, Jewish survivor of the Holocaust during World War II. The author's note at the beginning of the story explains how the book came about:

"In 1995, the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II, I met the woman in the story. My husband and I were sitting on a curb in Rothenburg, Germany, watching a clean-up crew gather shards of broken roof tile from the city hall. A small tornado had ripped through this lovely medieval village the night before and scattered rubble everywhere. An elderly merchant standing nearby was telling us that the storm left as much devastation as the last Allied attack of the war."

"When the merchant went back to tending his store, the lady sitting next to us introduced herself as Erika. . . . I noticed she was wearing a Star of David on a gold chain around her neck, so I mentioned that after our stay in Israel . . . we had driven through Austria and visited the concentration camp in Mathausen. Erika told me that she had one time gotten as far as the entrance to Dachau but could not bear to enter."

"Then she told me her story . . . "

Erika tells her story of how, as an infant, she was thrown from a moving train by her mother in

Erika is thrown from the train by her mother.

an effort to save her life.  Her mother knew she was destined for death and felt the only way to save her child's life was to throw her from the train window with the hope someone would find her. Someone did find her, and that woman, who is never identified in the story, risked her life in order to raise Erika as her own child. Erika did survive the war. She survived because of her mother's sacrifice and the kindness and courage of a woman her family didn't even know.

The yellow Star of David in the center of the book's cover powerfully symbolizes what happened from 1933-1945, when six million Jews were killed, shot, starved to death, burned in ovens, or gassed in chambers. The book's title simply states: "Erika's Story." The word Verboten, which means forbidden in German, is touching the yellow star to remind us that Jews were forbidden in Germany under the Nazi Regime. The muted colors, browns, blacks, and whites set the Star of David apart from the other images on the cover. When the book is opened, the endpapers are yellow, and the reader sees that the star has been cut-out so that the color of the star is revealed only by what is underneath the cover. The star is there, but it isn't.

Most of the illustrations throughout the book are in black and white, except for a few. The illustration where the author meets Erika is in color and is modern in its representation; the image of Erika being thrown from the train is in black and white, except for the infant shown wrapped in a pink blanket; and the final double-page illustration is of Erika depicted as a small child (about five or six) watching a train pass by in the distance. Erika is standing on a bridge with her back facing the audience, and a woman is hanging clothes nearby. The impression is left to the reader's imagination; this woman must be the one who saved Erika's life. Her back is also facing the audience, and her face is not revealed to protect her identity.

The gray clouds in the distance and the wind blowing Erika's hair and dress create an ominous tone and represent the horror of what has happened to Erika and her family. The final sentence in Erika's story is on a solid, white page and stands alone in the top left-hand corner. It simply reads, "My star still shines." Beneath the sentence is a small, yellow star. Nothing else needs to be said.

Ruth Vander Zee Website
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Resources for Educators
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Faith by Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon

Published in 2009
Picturebook

Faith is a nonfiction book that was developed by The Global Fund for Children, a nonprofit organization located in Washington, D.C. that is committed to "advancing the dignity of children and youth around the world."  Their primary purpose is "to teach young people to value diversity and help them become productive and caring citizens of the world." Part of the proceeds from this book are donated to the organization "to support innovative community-based organizations that serve the world's most vulnerable children and youth" (back endpaper). This book definitely meets that objective.

This beautifully illustrated book is about the size of a sheet of paper, 8.5 X 11, and is set in landscape orientation, which would make any reader feel comfortable and at ease with its size and shape. The illustrations are actual photos taken by various copyright holders, which make the book appear realistic. As I read the text, looked at the pictures, and turned each page, I felt like I was reading a National Geographic Magazine. As a matter of fact, the jacket front cover photo was taken by Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer.

Many religions from around the world are included in the text. Most of the illustrations are framed photos of children and are strategically placed on each page to indicate the differences between each faith. Each photo has a caption that identifies the particular religion and provides a country where the religion is practiced. Some photos bleed to the end of the page, which make them appear larger than life. Religious practices are also depicted in the text and pictures, and the children appear joyful as they practice their faiths.

There were several aspects of this book that I found particularly helpful. There is a world map at the end of the book that identifies the countries from where the children portrayed in the book actually live and practice their faiths. The countries are labeled in bright colors, and the entire world is represented. In addition to the map, there is a section which includes "Elements of Faith." This section describes and defines how the children actually practice their faith. Finally, there is a "Words to Know" section, similar to a dictionary, that I found beneficial. Many religious terms that might be unfamiliar to readers are defined in this section.

Faith would be an excellent way to introduce world religions to children because it doesn't get into the more controversial aspects of faith such as intolerance, religious persecution, and terrorism, which is, in fact, taking place all over the world.

I am grateful to live in a country where diversity is often celebrated and embraced, but I couldn't help wondering while reading this book, how well this book would be received in countries such as China, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan, or Afghanistan, where women's rights and religious diversity are not so freely celebrated and embraced. It doesn't surprise me that this book was published in America.

Maya Ajmera Website
The Global Fund for Children
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine for Kids
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The House by J. Patrick Lewis (Illustrated by Roberto Innocenti)

Published in 2009
Picturebook

J. Patrick Lewis' book The House is an incredible book, especially because of the beautiful illustrations by Italian artist and Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Roberto Innocenti. Lewis, an American poet, wrote the text in a series of rhyming quatrains, and the story is told over a time period that spans 100 years. The book is unique in that it is written in first person point-of-view from the house's perspective and has an interesting introduction that provides a glimpse into the story's possible theme:

"The lintel above my door reads 1656, a plague year, the year of my construction. I was built of stone and wood, but with the passage of time, my windows came to see, my eaves to hear. I saw families grow and trees fall. I heard laughter and guns. I came to know storms, hammers and saws, and finally, desertion. Then, one day, children ventured beneath my shadow seeking mushrooms and chestnuts, and I was given new life at the dawn of a modern age. This is my story, from my old hill, of the twentieth century. ~The House, 2009" (opening page).

The House is a sentimental story that reminds me of the books that were written in the early 18th and 19th centuries that were not intended to be read by children but are now considered children's classics. This book could become a children's classic, but I believe it has been written for adults rather than for children. It is a story, however, that should be read by children because of the beautiful illustrations and altering rhyme schemes. Although "the house" was built in 1656, the actual story begins in 1900:

"I listen as the gossip-wind exhales,
Behold! The House of twenty thousand tales.
No longer shut away, a doomed outcast:
The children have discovered me at last."

For more than 300 years, the house stands strong despite the ravages of time, but within a period of just 30 years, the house falls into disrepair and eventual destruction. With the turning of each page, the house serves as a witness to what takes place within and around the house, and the reader sees and feels what the people in the house experience with each changing season. As the years pass, 1900, 1901, 1905, and then a year into World War I (1915), the reader begins to understand that life goes on even for those thrown into the uncertainties of war:

"Midsummer's dress is maid-of-honor green.
The hill girl takes her future by the hand--
A mason-soldier from the bottomland.
Life holds its breath when weddings intervene."

Despite war, weddings take place, children are born, Easter is celebrated, altar boys flee two angry geese, but by the year 1918, the war has taken its toll:

"From wife to widow . . . and the depths of grief.                        

My furnace burns as children leave for school,
Bundled in virtue, books, and classroom fuel.
How beautiful their innocence, how brief."

The third line in this quatrain could be a reference to the "virtuous" books that were written for children in early America, but the exact location of the house is somewhat ambiguous. Although the book is written by an American poet, the setting of the story could be somewhere in Europe because of the appearance of the illustrations.

Winters come and go; the Great Depression hits, the world is thrown into another unprecedented war, World War II. With each passing year, the reader experiences life as it is lived and witnessed by the house:

The House 1936

"Catastrophe, despair and hatred chase
Victims far from the flames that light my face.
I am the final refuge of the poor,
Who suffer but in suffering endure."

And the result of The Great War? More widows who are forced to continue to perform their daily duties despite their pain and suffering; children grow up and move away; all "vestiges of yesterday" seem to disappear, for life must go on. Eventually in 1967, the widow of the house passes away, a funeral is performed, and "quietly tolls the bell." Reality sets in:

"A House without a heart is like a flower
Without the dew."

The sixties and seventies come and go; they are decades of experimentation for the youth who tenant the house. Images of flower children are visible in the illustrations. The children seem to have lost their way, and the house begins to fall into disrepair and questions its future:

"This generation has much youth to spare,
Yet old stones youth alone cannot repair.
I am a House but I am home to none;
My voyage to destiny is nearly done."

Twenty years later after the house has been abandoned, it says, "Mold is my master. . . . And I am captive to this solitude." The wild creatures and the elements have intruded, and the cobblestones are about to disappear. The dark image of lightening striking a tree near the house is symbolic of what is taking place.

The very next page reveals, what I believe to be, the theme of the book. The illustration is dated 1999, the final year before the turn of the century, and shows a bulldozer after it has destroyed the house; it is making way for the new. The theme of the story is beautifully revealed "on the breath of nightingales." Notice how the words are italicized for emphasis:

"Where is the House of twenty thousand tales?                       
I do not recognize my new address.
What became of the maxim, More is less?"

I couldn't help but to think while reading this book, is change always good? Should we totally do away with the old to make way for the new?

As the story concludes, a dramatic shift occurs with the entrance of the "modern" age. The final illustration shows a new house standing where the old house once stood. Every illustration thus far represents the past, but this illustration would be very familiar to the reader; it represents the new. Although the story of the house seemed sad to me at times because I became attached to it as we got to know each other on our journey through time, the final picture provides a glimpse of hope. Time goes on, and a new generation will pick up where the old one left off, but perhaps, just perhaps, we should be careful as to how quickly we embrace this change.

Read The House by J. Patrick Lewis; you will never forget it!

J. Patrick Lewis' Website
Pictures of The House by J. Patrick Lewis
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