Cinder Edna

I enjoyed this book. It was well written and the illustrations are well done. But I don't read it to my daughter because I found the underlying message extremely problematic. In it we meet Cinderella and Cinder Edna, who are juxtaposed against each other. Cinder Edna is plain, smart, funny, determined, and upbeat, a real "pull herself up by her bootstraps" kind of girl. Cinderella is pretty, one dimensional, helpless, and vapid. Both are worked hard by their wicked stepmother and sisters, but where Cinderella sits and feels sorry for herself, Cinder Edna makes the most of a bad situation and learns skills from her drudgery. Both want to attend the ball. Cinderella is helpless and needs a fairy godmother to come up with her attire and transportation, and when she arrives at the ball she relies on her good looks, which is the only thing her doltish and vain prince notices about her. Cinder Edna, who is practical and independent, has a dress on layaway and takes the bus. At the ball she meets a male version of herself who is nerdy and interesting. Long story short, only one lives happily ever after. In attempting to subvert the usual message we see in princess stories that "beauty=good" when it comes to women, the author has inadvertently reinforced another stereotype that's nearly as damaging: "beauty=dumb bimbo." In other words, women who conform to feminine gender expression must be shallow and idiotic, and funny girls are conversely plain. I was also distressed by the negative portrait painted of Cinderella's reaction to her abusive family -- essentially she just sat around in cinders feeling sorry for herself, whereas Cinder Edna smiled through it and found ways to better herself. On the surface this may seem like a good lesson, until you consider that this reinforces a "blame the victim" mentality In this world view, victims of familial abuse should just suck it up and smile through it, and if they experience depression or a sense of helplessness or need help getting their lives together (from a fairy godmother, perhaps), then that's simply because they are weak and pouty, like this Cinderella. This could have been easily remedied had they depicted Edna's own struggle with these issues. The book was already wordy as it was, it could have stood a few more sentences for the sake of making that point. All in all, I think the beauty standards and gender roles this book tries to undo are almost completely undermined by the fact that it trips over itself backward into the mirror opposite trap.

My daughter (almost 4 years old) does not quite get the story yet so I would suggest this for slightly older children who can think/talk through the intended message a little more.Though this story is much better and more thought provoking than the original, the message is still a little much like a traditional fairy tale for me. Cinderella is still helpless and effortlessly made over by a fairy godmother who provides the slippers, fancy dress and all (which is unintentionally charming to my daughter) and Cinder Edna is pretty average. The real kicker is that the author makes of point of mentioning that Cinderella is beautiful and Edna is less than pretty. Isn't that still reinforcing modern, western beauty standards? Isn't that still reinforcing the importance of physical beauty period? Isn't that still saying that if you do nothing and feel sorry for yourself you might just be blessed by a fairy godmother? That was not quite the message I was hoping for.Also, in the end both girls still are "rescued" by the princes. Ultimately Cinderella is bored with her vain prince and Cinder Edna is happy with her down-to-earth prince with whom she tells jokes and shares common interests but there is still a "thank god I'm rescued/happily ever after" feeling to the end.Don't get me wrong; Cinder Edna is awesome. She is smart, resourceful, hard-working and fun and Cinderella ends up miserable and bored. However, I think the message falls a bit short of on-target.Much better than the original and worth adding to your bookshelf if your child is emotionally and cognitively ready and able to talk through the meaning.

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?

I absolutely loved this version of Cinderella!! I plan to buy it for my nieces as they get older!

This puts a new twist on Cinderella I read this book to a few classrooms I subbed in and they all seemed to get into the story.

Such a wonderful book with a strong female role model being prized not for her looks but her wit and resourcefulness. She's not being rescued but falling in love with a man she shares much in common with. It also tells Cinderella's story as cinder Edna' s neighbour and the contrast is great. My 3yo daughter loves it and so do I!

A charming version of Cinderella, emphasising the importance of comfortable shoes, tuna casserole and shared jokes. I did think, however, that some young readers might have preferred Cinder Edna to have bought a prettier dress for the ball. I would. There is nothing wrong with dressing up.

Mir war ja nie klar, wie unselbstständig Cinder Ella/Aschenputtel ist. Da setzt sie sich doch einfach hin und jammert, dass sie kein Kleid für den Ball hat und gar nicht weiß, wie sie hinkommen soll. Und schon muss sich ihre gute Fee darum kümmern. Cinder Edna ist anders: Sie reinigt die Vogelkäfige der Nachbarschaft und mäht das Gras der Nachbarn und verdient sich so das Geld für ihr Ballkleid. Zum fest des Königssohns fährt sie mit dem Bus - und der Erfolg ihrer Mühen soll hier nicht verraten werden.Großartige Geschichte für kleine Mädchen, die nicht auf Wunder warten wollen sondern selbst anpacken. Ein emanzipiertes Aschenputtel. Toll umgesetzt, leider nur auf Englisch erhältlich. Das wäre wirklich eine Übersetzung wert!

Das Buch ist eine wunderbare Neuinterpretation des Cinderella-Märchens und handelt von Cinderellas Schwester "Cinder Edna", die eher "bodenständig" ist und nicht ganz so sehr im Mittelpunkt stehen will. Die Geschichte bietet einen schönen Ansatzpunkt für Mädchen, die sich eben nicht unbedingt als "Prinzessin" fühlen. "Cinder Edna" macht klar, dass nicht nur diejenigen, die immer um Aufmerksamkeit buhlen, am Ende glücklich sein können.Insgesamt: Ein Märchen für das moderne Mädchen. Da das Englisch auch nicht schwierig ist, finde ich das Buch auch sehr geeignet, um es mal mit der eigenen Tochter als erstes englisches Buch außerhalb des Unterrichts durchzulesen. Wenn dadurch auch noch die Identität und Persönlichkeit gestärkt wird, umso besser!

I buy this for all baby girls I know. Great story that supports good choices.