Cinder Edna

Ellen Jackson has created a clever retelling of the Cinderella story. In this tale there are two neighboring damsels with wicked stepsisters and stepmothers who handle their fates in two distinctive ways. Cinderella is portrayed as a silly and vacant girl who cannot get to the ball without her stepmother's help. She wears her elegant glass slippers to the ball and meets the handsome yet pompous Prince Randolph. Cinder Edna, on the other hand, saves money earned cleaning parrot cages, buys a dress, and takes a bus to the ball in her sensible shoes. She meets the goofy and kind Prince Rupert, Randolph's brother who lives in a cottage in the back of the palace and runs a recycling plant. When a sensible shoe and an elegant slipper are left behind, only one couple will live happily ever after. This spunky tale about self-reliance and finding your own happiness is a great read.