Laura Whipple

The classic fairy-tale of Cinderella is retold from multiple perspectives in this novella in verse from author Laura Whipple and illustrator Laura Beingessner, creating an engaging and thought-provoking new look at a very old story. After a brief prelude from Cinderella herself, the book opens with an introduction from the spirit of her father, now passed away. From there the story proceeds along mostly expected lines, filling in the gaps—what made the stepmother so cruel?, how did show more Cinderella's fairy godmother get the news of her fate?, what did the household cat think of it all?, how did the Prince feel about the ball, both before and after our heroine's arrival?, how did the glass slippers feel about their role?—missing from more traditional versions. The book closes with a conclusion from Cinderella, as she sums up her experiences and offers some advice to the reader...

I enjoyed If the Shoe Fits: Voices From Cinderella, both for the new points of view it introduced, and for the lovely gouache artwork it contained. Whipple's verse was hit or miss with me—sometimes I greatly enjoyed it, and sometimes I found myself indifferent to it—but I appreciated the idea behind her book, and the themes she introduced. I did wonder a bit at the goodbye given by the cat after Cinderella is found by her Prince—shouldn't the cat have gone with her to the palace? or did he return to the fairy godmother?—but other than that I also enjoyed the story itself, as presented here. The visuals were quite appealing, with expressive faces and wonderful use of color. I did wish that they had been on every two-page spread, rather than there being some which were wholly text, but leaving that aside I was very pleased, from an aesthetic perspective. All in all, although not destined to become a favorite, I liked this one, and am glad to have read it, as part of my recent Cinderella project. Recommended to young fairy-tale lovers, particularly those who enjoy stories in verse. show less

I totally loved this version of Cinderella! The illustrations are awesome and I like that the text is written in poetry form because I think that totally fits to a fairytale. The changing point of views from which the story is told make it a very interesting story.

This clever version of Cinderella tells the story from the point of view of different characters. Each character has their own page with a poem. I enjoyed how we hear the voice important "characters" we don't expect to have an opinion on what is going on in the story like the garden and the rat The. My favorites were the Cat and the Glass Slippers separated Step- togrther - Step after the Ball.
The Cat has the personality that most cats have: "Cat is master. Cat is cat" King of the world he show more doesn't even know the name of his owner Cinderella or any of the humans of the house where he lives. He does not care so he calls everyone Good-Young her, Bad-hers. He is the spy for the Fairy godmother (Magic-Her). Hillarious. show less

Beautiful illustrations from the Arti Institute of Chicago.