When I first saw the post for Project: Fairy Tale, hosted by Alison at The Cheap Reader, I knew I wanted in, but I was a little bit hesitant because I’m not a big fairy tale person. HOWEVER, I knew I could have a lot of fun with this and I was hoping this would get me back into fairy tales, and so far, all of that is true!
My chosen fairy tale: CINDERELLA
I’ve got LOTS of plans for Cinderella. First and foremost, read the original fairy tale by Charles Perrault.
RETELLINGS:
I’m really excited for retellings! This is something I’ve just been starting to get into and I think this will be a lot of fun.
– Cinder by Marissa Meyer (own): I know, I know. I still haven’t read Cinder yet. But don’t worry! It is now in my possession thanks to a little place called Amazon.com.
– Finish Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (library) : Maybe this is cheating, but I’m still counting it. I’ve seen quite a few author interviews in which Ms. Mass said that she got the idea for ToG by wondering what would happen if Cinderella was actually a hired assassin sent to kill Prince Charming. It may not be a direct retelling, but its roots lie in Cinderella’s tale.
– Ash by Malinda Lo: This one may be a bit out there so we’ll see how it goes, but nevertheless, it sounds interesting.
– Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: Stated that it’s a Cinderella retelling, but it kind of seems like a fairy tale retelling in general. I actually haven’t read the book – I’ve only seen the movie – so I’m excited to read this.
– Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix: I haven’t read anything by MPH since I was a kid (Running Out of Time was seriously one of my favorites) so I’m hoping Just Ella is enjoyable!
I do plan to read a lot more, but I’m not sure exactly which ones I’ll get to. These will be more of a pick and choose as time winds down, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to tackle a lot of these:
The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer (I’m actually not sure if this is related, BUT it has “Cinderella” in the title, so I’m interested in checking it out)
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C Hines
A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James (it’s a romance novel – oooooh)
“TRUE” STORIES:
– Cinderella (as if you didn’t already know the story) by Barbara Endor
– Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ronald Koertge
FROM OTHER CULTURES/LANGUAGES:
– Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
– Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman
– Cenecientas (Spanish)
MOVIES
Cinderella – Rogers & Hammersteins (with Lesley Ann Warren, because that’s the way I grew up!)
Cinderella – Disney
A Cinderella Story – Hilary Duff
Ever After – Drew Barrymore
11 thoughts on “Project Fairy Tale: Cinderella – Intro Post”
I do like a good Cinderella retelling 🙂
Cinderella’s my favorite fairy tale, so I can’t wait to see your reviews! 🙂
Great pick for a fairy tale! I chose a more obscure one, so my options aren’t as plentiful as yours! 🙂 Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite middle grade novels, and it’s a great retelling of Cinderella. You’ll find lots of connections! I remember watching The Rogers & Hammersteins version multiple times with my mom when I was little. Ever After is probably my favorite these days, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, there is a movie musical version with Whitney Houston, Brandy, and Bernadette Peters from the 90’s (I think? maybe early 2000’s) that is absolutely great. I think it was made for TV…but nonetheless, the songs are very, very catchy and it’s cute!
Happy Fairy Tale exploring!
Cinderella is a great pick! I loved Ever After, fun. Also, Mercedes Lackey has a book called The Fairy Godmother which is quite enjoyable. I also really liked the Eloisa James story too, I just read it a couple months ago. Super silly and fun! You will have a great time with this. (I haven’t read Cinder yet either…)
Thanks! I’ll have to check those out 🙂 I’m so excited to start!
Cinderella is a very cool fairytale. Did you know almost every culture has some sort of Cinderella story? From the Native American tale The Rough Faced Girl to Yeh-Shen: A Ciniderella Story from Chine. I think that is really fascinating, and it really shows how much people love an underdog story.
I love Ella Enchanted. Since you haven’t read the book, but have seen the movie, let me just say it is really different from the movie. Don’t get me wrong, I like the movie, but it doesn’t really follow the book. For example, there is no evil uncle Cary Elwes in the book. Nor is there that weird snake guy. But is is wonderful!
I actually wasn’t a huge fan of Just Ella, and actually it is more of a continuation story, than a retelling, but I think it totally works for Project: Fairy Tale! But I felt like Just Ella took all the magic (literally) out of the story.
Also, oh my gosh, I love Rogers & Hammersteins Cinderella. When I was a kid my blonde friend always called it the dark-haired cinderella. Lelsey Ann Warren is absolutely adorable in that movie. And Ever After! So good!
I’m really excited about this project. I’ve always loved fairytales, and am a huge sucker for fairytale retellings.
That’s really cool! I only listed a couple from other cultures but that’s something is really like to get into. I think that’s one of the most interesting parts!
I didn’t really pay attention to fairy tale retellings either, but after Cinder, I want more of them! Same thing happened to me with Throne of Glass and the fantasy genre.
I hope you enjoy your books. x]
Great list Brittany! You really lucked out. There’s TONS of stuff out there for Cinderella. Hope you have fun with it!
Thanks!! I’m hoping to get to a LOT of stuff 🙂