Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella

In Cendrillon, Robert D. San Souci and Brian Pinkney deliver a captivating retelling of the classic Cinderella story through a unique Caribbean lens. This enchanting version is narrated by Cendrillon's magical godmother, a washerwoman from Martinique, who shares her perspective on the beloved tale of an oppressed servant girl, her cruel stepmother, and the quest for true love. As Cendrillon longs for the affection of a wealthy man's son, her godmother is determined to help her find happiness. Armed with quick wit, a strong will, and a magical wand passed down from her mother, she devises a plan to transform Cendrillon’s fortunes. This fresh narrative breathes new life into the traditional story, highlighting the beautiful culture and musical language of the Caribbean. Adapted from a cherished Creole tale, Cendrillon captures the timeless elements of romance and magic while celebrating the richness of Caribbean heritage. San Souci’s lyrical storytelling combined with Pinkney’s stunning illustrations creates a vivid and immersive experience, making this book a delightful addition for readers of all ages who cherish fairy tales filled with wonder and heart.

My kids and I love this story, a Caribbean version of the classic Cinderella tale. The art is gorgeous and lively, as is the storytelling. After checking this out at the library repeatedly, we decided to track down a copy. Hurray for marketplace sellers! Happy to find this and it arrived carefully packaged in great condition. Thank you!

The book is great however the age and reading level is not appropriate for my granddaughter who is a toddler at this time. I'll reorder it at another time. Thank you.

Lovely illustrations

Beautiful story - I love the cultural take on the Cinderella story. The images and the storyline present a great perspective for children who are familiar with the culture, and for those who would otherwise have no exposure to it.

I bought this for my 3rd grade class. They loved it!

Author, Robert D. San Souci uses a touch of sarcasm in his voice as he retells this Caribbean version of Cinderella. The sarcasm adds an element of humor and makes this rendition more appealing to young readers. Teachers and readers can use an index in the back of the book to explain the Creole words in the story. The large number of Creole words helps to authenticate this story. There are many similarities between the Caribbean version of Cinderella and Disney's. The nanny uses a magical wand to change a breadfruit into a gilded coach. The breadfruit resembles a small pumpkin except for the fact that the breadfruit grows on a tree instead of a vine. The only main differences between this retelling of Cinderella is that there is only one stepsister,the glass slipper is a pink embroidered slipper, and the godmother is a wacky nanny with a sense of humor. The illustrator uses scratchboard, luma dyes, goache, and oil paints to create these magical illustrations for this wonderful picture book. By Jill Griffin 6 10, 2007

This a Caribbean Cinderella story with a lot of French-Creole words in the glossary. This book is great if you want more culturally diverse literature at home or in your classroom.

Authentically told with lots of little ‘Caribbeanisms’ for lack of a better word lol: the language style reminds me of my st lucian grandmother. Captivating illustrations

I enioyed this book. Very cultural I read it to my daughter regularly.

My year 4 class were studying stories from another culture so I bought this Caribbean Cinderella to compare and contrast, story mapping etc It has beautiful and colourful pictures and is a lovely twist on the original (washer woman is the fairy godmother). I would recommend as a great story and resource.

My daughter loves this book; she keeps asking me tons of questions about it since she has also watched the most common version of the story. So this is for me an opportunity to also teach her about black history and creole. I can feel that she truly connects with the protagonist.

Bought 3 copies for my 3 nieces. They are very young (1-2 years) so no direct feedback from them but I think that it is a really lovely book and has a few French words in there too which is nice and a glossary at the back explaining the French/Patois words. My sister noted that children in this day and age perhaps won't be impressed with Cinderella's dress for the ball but I suppose that can open up a conversation with your child about traditional Caribbean dress.