A Classic Tale Recycled into Something New...and Wonderful!

books:


	• Cinder Edna Ellen Jackson HarperTrophy, 1998 - 32 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Happily Ever After, by Mariah Krauel

"Now she's gone - the only girl I ever loved."
"Well, didn't you get her name?" asked Rupert impatiently (page 15).

In Cinder Edna, Ellen Jackson compares the classic Cinderella to a more light-hearted, realistic one, Cinder Edna. This Cinderella story with a twist is an enjoyable real world fairytale for children, especially little girls. The readers are able to relate with either Cinderella or Cinder Edna. While relating this enjoyable story, Jackson creates a dual tone of melancholy and optimism which are emphasized through the use of theme, contrasting diction, structure, and foils.

The tone of this children's story is illustrated through the theme of Cinder Edna. The theme portrayed is one of gaining happily ever after. Through the theme a lesson is taught about living happily ever after and the right attitude needed to achieve it. The theme is emphasized through the contrasting tones of the two main characters. Both Cinderella and Cinder Edna are forced to work for their wicked step mothers and step sisters. However, each girl takes on a different view of their situation. Cinderella evokes a tone of melancholy through her self pity and disparity towards her trial and chooses to dwell in pity, sitting among the cinders. On the other hand, Cinder Edna creates a tone of optimism through her self-sufficiency and independence toward her hard situation. She chooses to make the most out of her hard situation and to learn new skills. In the end, it is a cheerful outlook in hard times that leads to happily ever after.

Contrasting diction is also used to illustrate the tones of optimism and melancholy. Jackson uses "cruel" and "endless" to describe Cinderella's outlook on her situation. These words evoke a forlorn tone and create a feeling of pity toward Cinderella. Instead of trying to change her predicament, she sits and wishes for someone to come and change it for her. Contrastingly, Jackson describes Cinder Edna and her similar situation with cheerful diction. She uses "spunky" and "silly" to illustrate Cinder Edna's self-sufficiency and optimistic personality. Jackson also utilizes light-hearted rhymes to create Cinder Edna's happy tone. Cinder Edna figures out things for herself, and prepares ahead of time. Therefore, the varieties of diction help to create the contrasting tones of optimism and somberness.

The structure of Cinder Edna adds to the dual tones. While describing Cinderella's point of view Jackson uses long and loose sentences. She uses many descriptive words to add to Cinderella's distress. However, while discussing Cinder Edna, Jackson uses short sentences that add to Cinder Edna's "spunky" personality. This difference is noted through the description of both girls preparing for the ball. Cinderella is described as depending on her fairy godmother to figure out how she would get to the ball, through the utilization of various forlorn describing words. Therefore, a fairly large paragraph is formed to describe Cinderella's means of transportation instead of just a few lines. However, Cinder Edna's transportation to the ball is described with "Cinder Edna took the bus" (page 9). This short sentence gets to the point and emphasizes Cinder Edna's self-sufficiency and optimistic personality. Therefore, structure helps illustrate the dual tones of optimism and melancholy.

Jackson utilizes foils to create emphasis on the dual tones. Cinderella dwells on her troubles, sits in the cinders, and wishes for something to happen to change her predicament. After her wish comes true, she returns home moping and "sits forlornly among the cinders in the corner;" thus creating a somber tone (page 18). However, Cinder Edna makes the best of her predicament. She sings and whistles while she works and learns new skills. Cinder Edna works on the side to earn money and figures things out thing for her self. She buys her own dress and takes the bus to the ball. After returning, Edna continues on with her work, happy to have had the chance to go to a ball; thus illustrating a cheerful tone. The princes Randolph and Rupert are also foils of one another. After the ones they love disappear, Randolph blames others and pities himself. He did not have the common sense to ask Cinderella's name so he goes on a quest with her glass slipper to find her. However, Rupert prepares a plan of how he will find his true love. Rupert, having the common sense to ask the girl's name and about her, searches through the phone book and visits all of the Edna's in the village. He asks them questions pertaining to things he had learned about Cinder Edna at the ball. Therefore, through the use of foils the dual tone is created.

Throughout the story, Jackson illustrates a dual tone of cheerfulness and somberness. These contrasting tones are seen through the author's use of theme, contrasting diction, structure, and foils. Through this story the reader learns that we have to work for our own happily ever after. We need to have an optimistic attitude while overcoming our obstacles. We learn that with the right attitude anything is possible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and recommend reading it to children.

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A Classic Tale Recycled into Something New...and Wonderful!

This adaptation of the classic children's fairytale Cinderella brings something of a mixture of the classic story elements (princes, castles, and fancy dress balls) with modern, contemporary settings (the city bus, penny loafers, and recycling plants)...Cinder Edna is Cinderella's more self-reliant, self-sufficient neighbor who just doesn't have time (or see the point of) sitting around in the fireplace cinders feeling sorry for oneself. She gets out and about doing for herself and enjoying life...she even knows 16 different ways to make tuna casserole (and that's quite spectacular, don't ya know)! While Cinderella needs her fairy godmother to get her a dress, a ride to the ball and snazzy glass slippers, Edna gets her dress off layaway, puts on her comfortable penny loafers and takes the city buss to the ball. In the end each girls get her man...Cinderella gets her prince charming and Edna falls for charming's somewhat dorky younger brother Rupert. This story, like the classic, portrays a happy ending for all...the somewhat ditzy and bubble-headed Cinderella spends her days in luxury and self-absorption (and is perfectly happy), Cinder Edna winds up in an ecologically friendly soar-heated cottage with her recycling prince...and she also lives happily ever after (in a life that looks to be infinitely more interesting and full of fun than that of Cinderella and her boorish, snobby prince). I enjoyed reading this as did my 7 year old. I got a kick out of the artwork, which goes along so very well with the message of this particular adaptation (that living happily ever after is in the eye of the beholder...and getting there doesn't necessarily involve fairy godmothers and magic...you CAN make your own happily ever after)! I give Cinder Edna 5 stars and two thumbs up...it made me smile deeply and often and even had a few laugh out loud moments that really made my day! I'd recommend it as a read aloud for ages 5-7, though it's a picture book I don't think that he length of the text makes for ideal reading for younger children (3-5). I also think it would be well received by children transitioning to independent reading, as this would provide a "new story" with some familiarity and the amount of text is just about right for emerging independent readers (6-8).

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Attitude, it's all attitude!

This is the story of two neighbors, both overworked sisters to mean, wicked, old step-sisters. Cinderella is the pretty one who sits in the cinders and daydreams after she finishes her chores. Next door Cinder Edna, the spunky one but not so pretty, sings while she works. She doesn't like sitting in cinders--gets her clothes sooty--so she takes on extra chores from the neighbors who pay her, enabling her to put a lovely dress on lay-away, her just-in-case dress.

One day the two princes announce a big ball and invite all the women of the kingdom to attend. The six wicked sisters ready themselves through the help of the abused step-sisters. Cinderella's fairy godmother comes along to poof the pretty lass ready. Cinderella's lack of imagination, lack of spunk, lack of proper attitude cannot see a way to the ball. GM has to turn a pumpkin, you know the rest.

Meanwhile, Cinder Edna gets her dress off lay-away, decides to wear her comfortable loafers to dance in, and takes the bus to the ball. There is no effort except her own good attitude. At the ball she finds the handsome prince too stuffed full of himself. Boring, she decides of him. Then she meets Rupert, the younger prince, head of waste recycling and keeper of orphaned kittens and master joke teller. She is known to tell a joke or two herself. They dance the night away.

All good stories must come to an end. The usual hunt for the right foot for the glass slipper, and a woman who can recite 17 tuna casserole recipes play a major role. There is a double wedding (surely this is not a spoiler!). But the big question is: Which couple lives happily ever after?

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Excellent role model for girls

Can't recommend this book highly enough for females of all ages. Cinder Edna is an incentive to become an actor in life, taking joy in doing, being, and sharing. The Cinderella story, on the other hand, emphasizes the superficial, and her value is obtained by being picked as the most beautiful by a prince. There's nothing wrong with beauty, but that's not where one will find happiness. I want my daughter and granddaughter to live their lives to the fullest, and Cinder Edna is a excellent role model of that. An inspiration for little girls and an awakening for women who have spent their whole lives wishing to be Cinderella.

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great

i think my teacher read this book to me in grade 3 or 4. its the cinderella story, but 'cinderella' doesn't wait around for prince charming doing nothing. she goes through the cinderella story but finds practical solutions to problems cinderella does nothing about or complains about. i can't remember if cinderella is in the book or not as a foil for cinderedna, but it was an amusing read and a enjoyed it at the time. it thankfully isn't a bra burning approach to feminism, but a 'you can do things on your own' book. its cinderella without the idealism. of course we all love the idealism, that's why such stories as cinderella exist, but for every cinderella there must be a cinderedna... because a person can't be entirely practical or entirely idealistic, but a balance of both must be achieved. unfortunately there aren't as many 'cinderenda' books on the market as there should be for young girls, so i guess this one is good!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

The famous Cinderella and her neighbor Cinder Edna each worked sunup to sundown for their wicked stepmother and stepsisters. But while Cinderella had the good fortune to be rescued by her fairy godmother, Edna was strong, self-reliant, spunky--and she lived happier ever after! "Nicely executed....This Cinderella send-up is full of kid-pleasing jokes."--Publisher's Weekly.

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