Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred by Deborah Hopkinson, Paul O. Zelinsky
Published by Anne Schwartz Books on 08/15/2023
ISBN: 0593480031
Pages: 1
Genres: Fairy Tale
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

This fun new version of Cinderella is told by Fred, a mouse Ella befriended one day when she was gardening. This story loosely follows the original fairytale until the ball where Ella absolutely does not fall in love with the prince. Her glass slippers hurt her feet so badly she throws them at a lamppost and the prince does not discover her when he visits the home of her stepsisters. The ending takes another surprising twist when Ella does fall in love- with a fellow female gardener who she beat in a pumpkin growing contest. It is a fairytale ending and the backmatter even includes information about the fairytale pumpkin. Children will enjoy the humor found in the text and in the illustrations, especially in the facial expressions of the characters. This would be a great addition to the fairytale section of any library.