Lynn Roberts

I love the 1930s, so the Art Deco styling of this retelling was a lot of fun to explore. Add sprightly storytelling and illustrations with plenty of clever detail, and I have to say Cinderella: An Art Deco Love Story is one of the best versions of Cinderella I've read.

This retelling of "Cinderella" by Lynn Roberts is beautifully told in a classic yet subtly refined way. The author tells the typical tale of Cinderella, but adds in additional commentary and details about the characters that help differentiate the characters and make them unique. For example, she describes and shows the father as being forgetful and having bad vision. She also describes the stepsisters as one being very dim and the other "as wicked as the other was dim." She provides details show more not usually depicted in other Cinderella retellings I've read and it helps me understand each of the characters more. The illustrations are also depicted in a very unique way as well. The characters are drawn with long, lanky bodies and big, distinct facial features. These qualities put emphasis on their expressions and body movements. The setting and clothing are based on 1930s fashion and style, which provides an example of how versatile the story of Cinderella can be. This story can be set in many different time periods and styles and still tell the story effectively. Overall, this retelling of Cinderella was beautifully written and illustrated in a classic yet unique way. I would definitely read this to my students one day to demonstrate the different kinds of styles and illustrations fairy tales can deliever. show less

This version of Rapunzel is set in the 1970s. It uses designs and popular artifacts from the 70s to tell the story. This book loosely follows the same storyline of the classic Rapunzel. The idea of the story is the same, but the character relations, appearances, setting, and some of the storyline are all different. I noticed in the book popular celebrities of the 70s. There were album covers and posters in the Roger's room that I recognized. This book was illustrated and written by the same show more brother and sister that wrote the Cinderella I read. The style is exactly the same. Once again I found the illustrator's note to be very interesting. The illustrator said he was influenced by the music, film, fashion, and designs of the 1970s', which is when he grew up. He used replicas of record sleeves and film posters in the book. What I found the most interesting is that he imagined the families of Cinderella and Rapunzel to be related, so he used artifacts from Cinderella and placed them in this book. The theme of this story of Rapunzel is the same as the other version. Rapunzel and Roger's friendship and love for one another is what brought them together and a happy ending. I think I rather the classic version of Rapunzel better, but this was a fun twist to the classic fairytale. show less

This is our typical Cinderella fairytale but set in the Art Deco period and slightly tweaked. I have always loved Cinderella stories but for some reason I've never disliked the storyline more. I was so upset with her father for not standing up for her, how could a father be okay with his daughter suddenly dressing in rags, sleeping in the kitchen, and becoming a servant to his the 3 random women he brought into his home... All because he has bad eyesight? The picture book also mentions that show more she kept her new insulting name, which also made the story more unlikeable.
I really wish I enjoyed this retelling. I did however find the illustrations to be beautiful and details on each page are incredible. show less