Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper

Loved this particular edition and bought it solely for Camille Rose Garcia's illustrations. I'm so sad she hasn't done more of these, since I have now all three of her illustrated books in the series! I am a big fan of fairy tales, and do consume them with relative frequency but I often times find it hard to get over the overarching misogynistic elements of classic fairy tales. However, I did think this one was not as bad as others I've read. I do think that hard work and a kind heart are important values to impart on a child, but I do think this book goes the extreme by having Cinderella not only forgive her stepsisters in the end, but also go on and reward them for their change of heart once it is revealed that she was the mystery woman at the ball. This sentiment could be mistaken by children, especially young girls, that they are allowed to be abused and should continue to wish well on their abusers after the abuse. A lot has changed in society and the way that we view boundaries, particularly for women, and obviously this is an outdated approach to what a woman "should" be like. So much of Cinderella's description is about how sweet and kind and dainty and beautiful she is, and it gets a bit tiresome by the end. Additionally, this book tries to hit home that while beauty is a good attribute, a kind heart is more important, despite the fact that everyone was drawn to Cinderella for her good looks. It just seemed a bit silly and contradictory, and it felt almost as if it was saying that if you're ugly, it is even more important that you have a good heart. Overall, I would give the story a 3 star rating, but I love Camille Rose Garcia's illustrations so much, this is getting a 4 star total rating from me.

Absolutely LOVED the illustrations. Not what you would expect for such a pretty fairy tale story. Pleasantly surprised. Definitely something to buy, with the whole collection illustrated by Camille Rose, to display as art pieces in one's place.