Cinderella's evil stepmother makes her cook and clean and dust and sweep until her arms ache and her head spins. But with a tap, tap and a WHOOSH of her fairy godmother's wand, the kind, mistreated beauty becomes a shimmering vision worthy of a prince. In a wry, conversational tone, the narrative sends Cinderella off to the ball three times — each time lovelier than the last — breathing witty new life into this oft-told, favorite fairy tale.

Niamh Sharkey是一位一流的愛爾蘭插畫家，她用石膏打底畫油畫，創造出顏色的豐滿度，這讓她很快成為世界級的插畫家。她為很多本暢銷書做過插圖，當然包括這本灰姑娘。“新瓶裝老酒”，味道不是一般的好啊！

Eilenberg’s retelling of this favorite and familiar tale hews close to Perrault (three balls instead of one) with a dash of storytelling moxie. The text is quick and unsentimental, with little asides: “The stepsisters spent the whole week shopping. They bought expensive outfits, an enormous amount of jewelry and some very large hats. They thought they looked beautiful! (In fact, they looked frightful.)” The snappy text helps offset the overwhelmingly pink-and-blue palette and the cutsie flourishes of hearts, stars, and crowns scattered throughout. Sharkey’s cartoon-style characterizations have naive panache, and though Cinderella herself is largely unimpressive, once dressed in her ball gowns she looks just like a little girl’s drawing of a princess: high hair, sparkly crown, and big poofy dress. The horses, mice, and lizards, even a puff of magical smoke, have goofy personality, and many of the full-page and full-spread illustrations would work well with a group. Grades K-3. --Negro Janice Del