This Caribbean version of the Cinderella fairy tale is told from the point of view of the fairy godmother, giving the story a fresh take and a new flavor by the tropical locale, the Creole dialect, and full-color scratchboard-and-oil paintings.

Reviews

Set in Martinique, this version of Cinderella is told from the fairy godmother's point of view. Cendrillon becomes the stepchild of a selfish woman whose only daughter is spoiled and demanding. In the end, of course, Cendrillon finds true love. The story is interspersed with Creole words and phrases that are explained in a glossary. (K-Gr 4) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

"You may think you know this story I am going to tell you, but you have not heard it for true," begins the washerwoman and unlikely godmother who narrates this spirited retelling. From the team behind The Faithful Friend comes an adaptation of a Creole tale that recasts familiar elements into the fashions and customs of the colonial West Indies. There is the haughty stepmother Prospérine, "puffed-up proud because her grandfather had come from France," the godmother who taps a breadfruit with a mahogany wand and transforms it into a carriage, and Cendrillon, who escapes at midnight with one pink slipper embroidered with roses. Pinkney's oil and scratchboard illustrations burst with vigorous movement as he captures the exotic palette and the lush textures of the "green-green island in the so-blue Mer des Antilles." The lyrical cadences of the text spattered with French and Creole words combine with the sensuous paintings to bring the tropics to life. However, the story's charm lies not in the well-matched Caribbean bride and groom or in the (rather predictable) happy ending, but in the authentic voice of the godmother. Her affection for the kind Cendrillon inspires her bold and selfless acts to ensure the happiness of another (and her quirky foibles prove equally appealing as she indulges in bowl after bowl of chocolate sherbet while proudly watching the couple's nuptials). Through this colorful and deeply human godmother, readers witness the enduring power of love. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)