Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella

The famous fairy-tale gets a woodland makeover in this picture book retelling from author Tony Johnston and illustrator James Warhola. When the Bigfoot prince—tall, dark, odiferous and very hairy—decides he needs to find a bride, he throws a forest fun-fest, vowing to marry the Bigfoot girl who can roll him off a log. Nearby, a splendidly hairy and kindhearted Bigfoot girl named Rrrrrella lives under the thumb of her cruel stepmother and stepsister, who lack her size and hairiness, but make up for it with pure nastiness. When Rrrrrella is left behind on the day of the fun-fest, a bear she once helped decides to play the role of beary godmother, and help her get to the party. Here, naturally enough, she manages to enchant the prince, show more before leaving behind one of her massive wooden shoes when she flees...

I've been on something of a Cinderella kick recently, and Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella is one of many retellings I have sought out from the local public library. While I don't always take to this kind of humorous fractured fairy-tale, I have enjoyed many of Johnston's other picture books, and thought it was worth a shot. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me, and rather than finding it amusing or charming, as I'd hoped, I found myself mostly indifferent to it. I did appreciate the intention here, to create a woodland version of this tale with a positive ecological message—both the prince and Rrrrrella try never to hurt any of the forest's animals, nor to pick flowers and thereby kill them—but other than that the story didn't appeal to me, and my funny bone was decidedly un-tickled. The cave-man dialogue used by the Bigfoot characters was unfortunate, and struck me as awkward rather than humorous, as I suspect was the intention. Tastes vary of course, and humor is idiosyncratic, so other readers might find this one fun, and appreciate its silly sensibility. It is to such readers that I would recommend it, as well as to those looking for unconventional Cinderella retellings. show less

Summary:

An adaptation of the story of Cinderella, Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella is the tale of a big hairy, smelly, stinky Bigfoot named Rrrrrella who lives in the forest with her Bigfoot family. When it is time for the Bigfoot Prince to choose a partner, Rrrrrella's family prepares to go to the festival - but they do not take Rrrrrella with them and instead leave her to "catch plenty fish." Sad and alone, she wishes that she could go to the festival for the Prince and that she could have a chance to dunk the Prince herself. Then she has a visit from her Beary Godmother who turned her flowered fur, into dirty matted fur so that she could go to the festival too. Rrrrrella attends the festival and catches the attention of the Prince. The story show more is filled with clear and clever associations to the original Cinderella story - complete with step-sisters and step-mom.

My reaction:

I love this book! As a girl, who was a true Tom-Boy, I found this adaptation to the traditional Cinderella story delightfully fun. From the family of stinky Bigfoots to the log-rolling competition, I enjoyed every aspect of following Rrrrrella on her quest to dunk her Prince.

Classroom Extension Ideas:

1. Focus on vocabulary (lots of colorful adjectives in this text), and provide key words for students to find the synonym in the text of the story. Create a crossword puzzle or word find puzzle to highlight the vocabulary words from the text.

2. Encourage students to read out loud, reenacting the story of Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella and perform for their classmates. show less

On the back of the title page, tucked above the copyright information, is a small glossary explaining forest terms.

The humorous tone is set immediately. “… Lived a dashing Bigfoot prince. He was tall and dark as a Douglas fir – with feet like cedar stumps. He was as odoriferous as his tree-home was coniferous. And so horrendously hairy that Bigfoot women near and far long day to marry him.” The Bigfoot in the illustration is cute with no hair on his face or feet, a large barrel-chested body, skinny arms and tiny hands, and a huge nose.

The text is rich with interesting vocabulary and clever comparisons, “sour as little green berries”, “golden as a banana slug, with feet like log canoes” and “teased her like stinging show more mosquitoes”.

Rrrrrella’s mean step sisters and stepmother make her do all the work. The Prince has a contest, whoever can roll him off a log into the river will become his wife. Rrrrrella is left at home wishing she could go to the fun-fest. Her beary Godfather provides her with enormous wooden bark-clogs and tangles her fur. Rrrrrella is the last to compete and the only one to dunk the prince. When she runs off, the Prince uses the abandoned bark-clog to find her again.

If the child is familiar with the original Cinderella story, this would be a hilarious follow-up. As well, throughout the text are valuable messages on protecting the old-growth forest and that beauty is a concept created by society. show less

I liked this book for several reasons. The big idea of this story was about a prince named Bigfoot who was on a search for his Cinderella. I liked that the language was descriptive but also entertaining. For example, one sentence reads "He was as odoriferous as his tree-home was coniferous". Also, when Bigfoot would speak they would shorten his sentences to be appropriate to the Bigfoot stereotype. He would say thinks like "me want princess" instead of talking in full sentences. These small elements of rhyme and humor helped keep me engaged in the story as well as entertained. I also like that the story combined elements of the traditional tale of Cinderella with more modern elements. For example, both stories have a prince, but in this show more story the prince was Bigfoot and "all the horrendously hairy women longed to marry him". This also enjoyed the illustrations in the story because they help the reader visualize the events in the story. The style of the illustrations is not simply pencil and pen - it has elements that appear almost like a painting. The animals and objects are also shaded so they look very realistic even though most of the events in the story could not happen in real life. Lastly, I enjoyed that the book tied in characters that would be appropriate in the setting of the story. For example, the story includes a grizzly bear who also lives in the same woods as Bigfoot. This helps to enhance the story. show less

The prince Bigfoot is incredibly hairy, smelly, and loves nature with a passion. All of the other bigfoot women want to marry him, so he holds a log rolling contest to win a bride. Rrella is the stepsister to two other bigfoot women, who love to keep clean and wear flowers in their neatly brushed fur. This is the typical “Cinderella” story because Rrella goes to the log rolling contest, wins, runs out of time, loses her clog, and prince charming finds her by matching the shoe.

In my opinion, Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella is a very interesting book for several reasons. First, the story is different spin-off of the classic Cinderella story. Instead of the usual, beautiful princess that is swept away by the charming prince, this story is about Bigfoots being large, hairy, and dirty! It is most definitely a different viewpoint for readers to get used to. Students would have to be able to see from the eyes of a Bigfoot. Besides being an interesting and different book, this book could also be used when comparing and contrasting to the original tale. I liked the characters because they were very different. The “ugly” stepsisters were skinny and decorated themselves in flowers, while Rrrrella was large, smelly, and show more hairy! The prince chose Rrrrella to be his wife, therefore causing the reader to think about cultural societies. For example, when describing the prince, “He was tall and dark as a Douglas Fir, with feet like cedar stumps.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about the language. The Bigfoots did not talk in standard English. For example, when Rrrrela wanted to meet the prince she said, “Me wish go fun-fest. Me wish dunk prince.” I overheard some other students saying this would be bad for children, but I think it adds to the style of the story and would be funny for students to read! The author also provided a glossary of terms at the beginning. The big idea of this story was to retell the story of Cinderella in a different and interesting way, which focused on nature. show less

I loved the idea of this book but I think it was a little to hard for my preschoolers to follow. It is the Cinderella story told about bigfoot and has great nods to the environment and taking care of it (me no pick flowers) but there were too many parts that were over their heads, old growth forests, specific tree names they wouldn't know are trees. It is also a long book and by the end of reading it I had lost most of their attention. Like I said I love the concept and the story line, but not for my kids.