For weeks, my two youngest children enjoyed a variety of versions of Cinderella. we discovered quite a few new favorites (and certainly some we weren’t interested in). Read on to find the best versions of Cinderella to read aloud!
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24 versions of Cinderella
Cinder Edna, by Ellen Jackson
This is my favorite book on this list, so I put it first. cinderella and cinder edna live next door to teach others. both girls are forced to work for their evil stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella sits among the ashes, complaining about her problems. Cinder Edna, on the other hand, uses her spare time to learn new and exciting things and earn money doing jobs for the neighbors.
Cinderella is beautiful; cinder edna is simple. While a fairy godmother helps Cinderella dress for the ball, Cinder Edna wears a simple dress and loafers. Cinderella rides the carriage to the ball; cinder edna takes the bus.
Cinderella marries the handsome, proud and vain Prince Randolph. Cinder Edna marries Ella’s simple, intelligent and kind brother Rupert De Ella. Can you guess who lives happily ever after?
highly recommended!
seriously, cinderella is so annoying!, by trisha speed shaskan
This is a fun book told from the perspective of the “evil” stepmother. Apparently, Cinderella is a goofy, silly girl who tells stories all day (and leaves the house covered in dust).
Cinderella tells so many stories that she loses her voice, so of course her stepmother has to keep her away from the ball.
Older listeners will pick up humor better than preschoolers, and this book would be excellent for a study in point of view.
cindy ellen, by susan lowell
This is another Wild West take on the family story. Instead of going to a dance, Cindy Ellen goes to a rodeo, where he wins every event (and Joe, the rich rancher’s son, is so thrilled he doesn’t even mind losing). When Cindy Ellen and Joe meet again at a square dance, Cindy leaves behind one of his diamond spurs. Of course, Joe will not rest until he finds the owner of him.
a clever and fun version – recommended!
joe cinders, by marianne mitchell
joe cinders has three mean stepbrothers (butch, buck and bart) who force him to do all the work on the family ranch. When a mysterious man waves a stick and turns Joe’s rags into new cowboy clothes, things start to look up. The man trades his horse for a red pickup truck, and Joe heads over to the fall party, where he dances all the dances with Rosalinda. When Joe leaves his red cowboy boot behind, Rosalinda won’t rest until she finds his owner.
one to read!
chickerella, by mary jane and herm auch
This was just weird, and I was tempted to hide it from my three and five year old, who kept requesting it. they liked the chicken mannequin/collage artwork, but I found it creepy. combine weird illustrations with bad puns and you have an extraordinarily disappointing book.
the turkey girl, by penny pollock
This Zuni version of Cinderella is unlike any other version I’ve read because it doesn’t end happily ever after. Turkey Girl is a poor young woman who earns her living taking care of turkeys. One day, a huge glutton surprises her by talking to her and promising that she will go to a special dance. when the birds dress her in beautiful clothes and jewelry, they insist that she return to them at sunset.
The turkey girl promises, but she has so much fun at the dance that she doesn’t make it back on time. in the end, she loses her turkey friends and (we guess) she is left alone forever.
I didn’t read this out loud to my kids; the illustrations are far from attractive and the text is extremely difficult to read as it often has a dark background.
not recommended.
cinder-elly, by frances minters
In a clever rhyme, Minters tells the story of Cinder-Elly and her mean stepsisters, Sue and Nelly.
Instead of going to a dance, Elly goes to a basketball game. instead of riding a coach, she rides a bike (wearing glass sneakers). At the end, Elly has a date with Prince Charming, the basketball star.
I didn’t really like this modern take on new york city, but my three and five requested it often.
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smoky mountain rose, by alan schroeder
I always love to read a book with a funny dialect aloud, so the Appalachian style makes this one more fun. just to give you a taste…
“now listen. right in the heart of the smoky mountains, was this old trapper living in a log cabin with his daughter. One night, while Rose was frying a bunch of fish, the trapper started to look downcast.”
rose meets a rich guy (who “made his fortune on bellies and grits”) when he’s hosting a square dance.
My favorite page is the last one, which shows an elderly couple sitting on a porch swing. “to this day, rose and seb still live there, and people think they are the happiest two in all of tarbelly creek.”
the persian cinderella, by shirley climo
This version features Settareh, a beautiful young woman who catches the prince’s eye at the no ruz festival. the story is well told and the illustrations are so beautiful that they almost look like photographs. the tale itself is very different from other versions; settareh uses magic from a tiny glass bottle, and when her stepsisters take it, she turns her into a turtledove.
Overall, I found the story quite strange and this was not my favorite. but you may feel differently.
light, brown & trembling, by jude daly
In this Irish version, Shivering lives with his blonde and brunette stepsisters. instead of meeting the prince at a ball, the tremor makes his appearance at the back of the church. folk-style art gives the book an older feel. Because of that (and the fact that a woman cut off a bit of her big toe to fit in her shoe…and it all dripped blood!), I don’t recommend this book for younger listeners. .
cendrillon, by robert d. san souci
This version is told by a poor laundress from a Caribbean island. While I love vivid paintings, neither my children nor I enjoyed the story. however, the 5 star reviews on amazon reveal that many people feel differently. it’s worth taking a look.
the orphan, by anthony l. mana
In this Greek version, the young woman receives gifts from mother nature (the sun gave her brightness, the moon, beauty, etc.). When the prince decides to attend the village church, the orphan must fix her stepsisters’ hair and dress them in luxurious new dresses. however, the gifts of mother nature allow the orphan to make a radiant appearance at the church door.
there is no fairy godmother; instead, the orphan hears messages from her dead mother at her grave.
(yes, it’s weird.)
prince ashes, by babette cole
My three year old asked me to read this silly version to him many times. prince cinders is a “little, spotted, scruffy, skinny” prince with three older furry brothers.
When an accident-prone fairy falls down the chimney, it turns him into a big, furry ape. When Princess Lovelypenny meets the ape, she is terrified, but when the prince turns back to himself, she is convinced that she has rescued her from her.
a shy prince runs away, leaving his pants behind. When skinny Prince Cinders is the only man who’s pants fit, Princess Lovelypenny promptly proposes to him.
we like this silly version of the classic.
cinderrrrella bigfoot, by tony johnston
This is just a great full version that kids (as well as my three youngest kids ages 3, 5 and 7) will love. instead of the heroine being petite and beautiful, rrrella is a big stinky bigfoot. she wins the prince’s heart when she is the only bigfoot strong enough to spin his trunk and throw him into the water. when she runs away, the prince is heartbroken. “Where is my stinky beauty going?”
Turns out no one else’s foot is big enough to fit into the wooden clog rrrrella left behind, and the prince and his bride live happily ever after.
twinderella, by corey rosen schwartz
Did you know that Cinderella actually had a twin? Cinderella and Tinderella complete the long list of tasks assigned by their evil stepmother, dividing their tasks in half.
Their fairy godmother prepares the two girls for the ball, and when they arrive, the prince is fascinated by both the cin and the tin. Fortunately, the fairy godmother makes a twin for the prince and the girls have a double wedding.
The ending was a little weird for me, but I love the cleverly rhyming text, the built-in math concepts, and the charming illustrations.
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dinorella, by pamela duncan edwards
This was by far the version I liked the least. I usually like edwards alliterative stories (where many words start with the same letter), but this d-themed book fell short.
the idea of the story (three dinosaurs living in a den) is cute, but there are too many insults (dumb, dumb, dumb, etc.)
When Duke Dudley throws a party at the disco, Dinorella arrives and rescues Duke from a Deinonychus. the dinosaur only sees his glowing eyes and thinks he is a demon. “A devil! Look at the terrible demon eyes on him!”
no thanks.
the beautiful daughters of mufaro, by john steptoe
This is an absolutely stunning picture book about two sisters who live with their father in Africa. one is kind and generous; the other is vain and cruel. when the young king searches for a wife, the sisters react in different ways. The king recognizes his true nature and chooses Nyasha, the kind and generous daughter, to be his queen.
cinderella penguin, by janet perlman
The images in this book make me laugh, but it’s also a great version of Cinderella told exceptionally well. my three weren’t interested at first, but as the book progressed and he recognized the familiar fairy tale, he was hooked.
plus, the blonde cinderella wig, not to mention the image of her stepsister trying to get into a corset, are just hilarious.
the girl with a hard face, by rafe martin
This is one of those stunningly beautiful picture books that you just have to read. This version (from Algonquin Indian folklore) tells the story of a girl whose face and arms are scarred by fire that her stepsisters force her to take care of.
every young girl wants to marry the invisible being, because he is rich, powerful and (supposedly) handsome. To marry him, a woman must prove that she has seen his face.
although many women try to prove otherwise, only the rough-faced girl has seen the invisible being. And when she finally meets him face to face, he looks past her scars and sees her beauty within her.
I love this book and my kindergartner loved it too.
Cinderella: The Untold Story, by Russel Shorto
This is a fantastic book for teaching point of view. when you read one side of the book, you read the family story. flip it over and start from the other side, and you have a completely different story! In the untold story, Cinderella is a pretty but overly imaginative girl who lives with her kind father, her stepmother, and her stepsisters. In the end, she marries the prince’s cousin, who she also likes to tell stories that are not true.
both stories are cleverly told and the illustrations are wonderful.
cinderella: the dog and her glass slipper, by diane goode
The images in this book are a bit weird (dogs dressed in ancient European clothing, wearing wigs and walking on two legs). but my daughter enjoyed the humor in the illustrations, and the story is well told without being too wordy.
the golden sandal, by rebecca hickox
In this Middle Eastern tale, beautiful Maha works day and night for her cruel stepmother and stepsister. When Ella Maha prevents a little red fish from becoming the family dinner, she promises to help her whenever she needs it.
True to the culture of the time, Maha marries Tariq without ever having met him (her mother decides whom she will marry).
my daughter ordered this more than she would have thought, i suspect because of the beautiful illustrations by will hillenbrand.
adelita, by tomie depaola
adelita is a young Mexican woman who lives with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters. The bright spot in her life is Esperanza, the kind old woman who took care of her father when she was a baby. Esperanza helps Adelita reunite with a young man she met when she was a child, and the two (of course) marry and live happily ever after.
cinderella, by marcia brown
You may have a hard time convincing your young listeners to pose for this one, because the illustrations in this old version (1954) won’t appeal to today’s kids. but please try it. Although the story is familiar, Brown’s narration is wonderful!