Princess Furball

By: Charlotte Huck

Illustrated by: Anita Lobel

I've read this version of Cinderella a couple of times and like it. It is a Cinderella story in the sense that there's a little magic and a princess is made to do hard labor. She goes to a ball and no one knows who she really is. There are a few twists in this version. There has to be. This princess works in the kitchen of the King's castle and "escapes" her kitchen duties, changes into a beautiful gown, and attends a ball. This happens three times and she is eventually "found" out. There is no glass slipper and she marries a King instead of a prince. Of course, the story follows the fairy tale genre and has a happy ending.

I was not impressed with the illustrations. Actually, maybe I should take that statement back. The illustrations were very detailed and beautiful, but they were not colorful. I know, I know.... Not every book has big, bright colorful illustrations. (Can you tell I'm a Kindergarten teacher and love reading happy, bright books???) I like bright, vibrant, colorful pictures and these were simply not. This doesn't mean the illustrations were bad because they aren't. The type of illustrations fit this storyline well. It is effective. Also, there are "colorful" pictures, but this book just seems brown to me. I don't know... That's how I feel, brown.

The text itself and illustrations are laid out nicely on each page. There are full page illustrations with a half-page illustration on the opposite page with text above/or below the illustration. The text and pictures seem organized and they flow. (Is that a word?) It is not a funny, hilarious, laugh out loud version of Cinderella and I think the layout supports this.

Overall, when studying different versions of fairy tales, this is definitely one worth reading.