Rylant, Cynthia. 2007. Walt Disney's Cinderella.
2007 saw the publication of many great books for kids and young adults. A few really really really topped my list. Among the best of the best in feel-good, utterly and completely satisfying category is Cynthia Rylant's Walt Disney's Cinderella. This one goes above and beyond any and all expectations. It just doesn't get better than this. It doesn't. Trust me.
A word on the illustrations. They are by Mary Blair. She did the concept art for the Walt Disney film. It is so completely fabulous. They are NOT the final illustrations from the film like so many other Disney versions. But it is the inspiration for those illustrations. These pictures definitely evoke mood and tone.
A word on the text. It is oh-so-magical. This is how it begins, "This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about Love." We're told that, "Every day Cinderella wished for Love" and that the Prince had not yet fallen in love, "Any young maiden in the kingdom could have been his, for he was brave and kind and destined to be king. But of all the girls he had ever known or seen, not one touched his heart. Not one moved him." The story may be familiar to all, but this telling is so charming, so beautiful that it will make you fall in love all over again. "Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world? How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He finds her in a room. He asks her to dance. And when he touches her, he knows."
This one is definitely a must-read in my opinion. A pure joy from cover to cover. Highly highly highly recommended.
10 comments:
I'm a huge Cynthia Rylant fan--I love her word choice, and I love fairy tales. I'll definitely have to check out this book.
Amazing! Those illustrations are simply amazing. I'm going to have to do more web searching for the illustrator's work. Wow!
This book looks really amazing. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! I actually ordered a couple copies of it after reading your post!
I had a booklet with Walt Disney's Cinderella's story as a kid. I remember the illustrations and those on this book look really amazing. Thanks for sharing them with us, Becky!
Wow! Thanks for showing us that one. I'm really discovering some great new books today. Although my kids are grown, I collect children's books and hope to one day work on a PhD in children's literature (MS is in reading). Your blogs are in my Google Reader and I really appreciate the hard work you put into them ... just been a lurker for a long time :-)
(Jumped here from the Bookworms Carnival)
The artwork looks lovely.
Oh wow - Cinderella and illustrations by Mary Blair! I have to check this out :)
O wow! I love those illustrations! Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are my favorite fairy tales. Thank you!
I love your website! I have taught teens with babies the importance of reading to their child. Back to your post. Great review:)
I have to say I love those illustrations more than i would have liked the copy from the movie ones...They have an edge that the animated movie doesn't!
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