Traditional Literature Book Review #1

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cole, Babette. 1987. PRINCE CINDERS. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 0399215026

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In Babette Cole’s PRINCE CINDERS, Prince Cinders is “small, spotty, scruffy, and skinny.” He has three big hairy brothers that go to the Palace Disco and leave Prince Cinders home to clean. Prince Cinders wishes to be big and hairy like his brothers and a little fairy grants his wish. However, the spell does not go as planned and Prince Cinders turns into a big hairy monkey. Princess Lovelypenny sees this big hairy monkey and is frighten, but at that moment, the clock strikes midnight, and Prince Cinders changes back into himself. The princess thinks he has saved her from being eaten by the monkey and the story ends with them getting married and living “happily ever after.”

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a variant of the fairy tale “Cinderella” in which there is a male protagonist. Moreover, instead of losing a shoe, the prince looses his trousers. The story is set in modern times with cars and a disco palace where the musicians play guitars. The plot is simple and direct. Prince Cinders wants to be big and hairy like his three brothers-“When his work was done, he would sit by the fire and wish he was big and hairy like his brothers.” The theme is funny and the story ends with a “happily ever after.”

The fairy is not what you would expect either. She is a dirty little girl that cannot get her magic to work right. She says, “This empty can shall be a car” and it does turn into a car, but it is a little toy car, and when she tries to make a suit it is a swimsuit. Finally, the fairy makes Prince Cinders big and hairy all right, a big and hairy monkey! The catch, though, is that he does not now that he is a big hairy monkey, because when he looks in the mirror he looks like a big hairy man. The fairy’s spells and chants are silly, whimsical rhymes -“Ziz Ziz Boom, Tic Tac Ta” and “Toe of rat and eye of newt, Your rages will turn into a suit!”

There is also a touch of pro-feminist in the story with Princess Lovelypenny the one that proposes. She is also the one who talks to the fairy about what to do with the brothers…“whom she turned into house fairies, and they flitted around the palace doing the housework forever and ever.”

The front cover has a picture of Prince Cinders cleaning and the back cover has a big hairy monkey, in a swimsuit, with a crown on its head. It alludes to what is going to happen in the story. The illustrations start on the opening end page with two monkeys holding a crest and the motto “Courage in Tesco.” There is also a double page spread on the copyright and title pages, of all the mess that Prince Cinders is trying to vacuum.

The illustrations reinforce the text and add detail. For example, the illustrations include items with readable labels on them, such as “nasty cigs,” “Macho Magazine;” and “Zazzy Wash.” I think it makes the story more believable. We also see that since everyone in town is a prince or princess, they all wear little crowns. Cole uses white space for a dramatic affect, such as the page that describes Prince Cinders. The only thing on the page is little Prince Cinders, standing off to the side. Cole also uses proportions to show differences in size. Another double page spread has a picture of Prince Cinders as a big hairy monkey, which takes up a whole page, and then shows the toy car and the little fairy on the facing pages, each much smaller.

There are reoccurring elements found in the illustrations throughout the book. First, the little car shows up in several scenes, including at the bus stop. Then, there is a cat in all the scenes in which Cole uses to show different emotions. He looks curious, then scared, and finally, you just see his tail when he is running away from the big hairy monkey. Finally, in all the scenes with the Palace Disco, there is a little statue man holding a trophy on his head. In the first shot, he is standing straight and tall. Then, in the background of the bus stop scenes, you can see him struggling to stay standing, but the trophy is too heavy.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Publishers Weekly
"Take a classic story, substitute a few key ingredients, season freely with silliness and imagination, dress it all up in jaunty illustrations, and what have you got? In the case of Cole's Prince Cinders, an outrageously funny romp of a picture book…Prince Cinders heads off in his new incarnation to the Rock 'n' Royal Bash to claim his princess, a conventional end he achieves through most unconventional means. A madcap, highly entertaining spoof.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* Kid’s Reviews
My four-year-old son loves this story, especially the illustration of Prince Cinders as the big hairy ape, peering through the window at the royalty dancing at the Palace Disco. My six-year-old daughter likes Princess Lovelypenny's leopard print outfit. Both my kids think being doomed to clean the palace forever is a fate worse than death, and from the expressions on the faces of the house fairies, Prince Cinders's brothers would probably agree.” -K. Bennett

*Activities with this book:
-Have the children write their own version of “Cinderella” and share with the class.
-Find and compare this book with other “Cinderella” books:
Jackson, Ellen. 1998. CINDER EDNA. HarperTrophy (Reprint edition). ISBN: 0688162959
Minters, Frances. 1997. CINDER-ELLY. Picture Puffins (Reprint edition). ISBN: 0140561269
-Do a dramatization of the story, with a simple script, and have the children read different parts.
-Watch the 1993 cartoon movie version of Prince Cinders and compare it with the book.

*Related Websites
-The following is a link to a website that includes a language arts lesson plan used with the book PRINCE CINDERS prepared by Jennifer Dalke.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAPrinceCinders-PredictingComprehension12.htm

Happy Reading!
Lonnie