Cinderella Speaks Up: An Untraditional Graphic Novel (I Fell Into a Fairy Tale)

Bolte, Mari and Hallett, Braden (illus.)
Cinderella Speaks Up: An Untraditional Graphic Novel (I Fell Into a Fairy Tale)
Stone Arch Books (January 1, 2023)
E ARC provided by Netgalley 

 Kaita is magically swept into a book containing the story of Cinderella. She immediately befriends her, learns some of her backstory, and sticks up for her. She manages to confront Cinderella's family and get to the root of why they treat her poorly. Now that Cinderella can go to the ball, she finds a dress in the attic that belonged to her mother. It's a bit out of style, but the minute they walk into a used clothing store, the owner offers to trade the dress for something more Cinderella's style. Kaita is a little apprehensive about being interested in a prince just because he is a prince, but it turns out that he and Cinderella have a lot in common and spend the night dancing. Feeling good about the way the revamped fairy tale has gone, Kaita returns home.

Strengths: This is an early graphic novel with a good amount of text for third graders, who are just old enough to start appreciating twists on fairy tales, which they hopefully have met at some point. (A lot of my middle school students haven't read these.) The pictures are bright and fun, with quirkily drawn characters. There are discussion questions at the back of the book. Other books in this I Fell Into a Fairy Tale series include Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast.

Weaknesses: I'm not the target demographic for these, and they are a bit young for my students.

 
What I really think: While I didn't enjoy Cinderella's father seeing the error of his family's ways in treating Cinderella and suggesting he make an appointment for family therapy, this will definitely resonate with other readers.