The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition


Nina Jaffe - 1998
    One day, the rabbi asks his children a powerful question: "How much do you love me?" His older daughters profess their love in gold and diamonds, but his youngest daughter, Mireleh, declares she loves her father the way meat loves salt. For this remark, she is banished from her father's home. In this flavorful Jewish Cinderella tale, Mireleh's courageous journey is peppered with a perfect blend of magic and romance, leading to a reconciliation with her beloved father. Lavishly illustrated in Louise August's bold linocuts, The Way Meat Loves Salt will make a wonderful gift for the Jewish holidays.

Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella


Alan Schroeder - 1997
    Complete with an enchanting protagonist, a glass slipper, and a fairy godmother who just happens to be a hog, Smoky Mountain Rose is a joy to read again and again.

The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella Story


Mindy Dwyer - 2004
    But this story is set in the Last Frontier, and its details and imagery reflect Alaska's landscape and sensibility: the fairy godmother becomes an eagle spirit, the glass slipper a fisherwoman's boot. Evocative writing and colorful artwork distinguish this playful retelling of the classic. Here children learn about cultures and ways of life but happy endings are still the rule.

The Irish Cinderlad


Shirley Climo - 1996
    His new stepmother and her three daughters feed him crusts of bread and banish him to work in the fields. So Becan runs away.With the help of his only friend, a magical bull, he defeats a giant, slays a dragon, and rescues a princess. But before she can thank him, Becan disappears, leaving behind him one of his enormous boots. The princess scours the kingdom for the owner of the giant boot. Will Becan's feet give him away? And what will his fate be if they do?Folklorist Shirley Climo retells an age-old Irish tale that is an unusual twist on the popular Cinderella story. Just like his female counterpart, Becan has a mean stepmother and stepsisters. Unlike Cinderella, Becan has large feet and a magical bull for a fairy godmother. He defeats a sword-swinging giant, slays a fire-breathing dragon, and rescues a princess. But before the princess can thank him, he runs off, leaving her with only an enormous boot to aid her in the search for her rescuer. And, as in all Cinderella stories, true love prevails.

The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story


Penny Pollock - 1996
    In this Native American variant of a familiar story, some turkeys make a gown of feathers for the poor girl who tends them so that she can participate in a sacred dance, but they desert her when she fails to return as promised.

Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China


Ai-Ling Louie - 1982
    "Executed with chromatic splendor--a unique combination of brilliance and restraint".--The Horn Book. Full-color illustrations.

Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella


Susan Lowell - 2000
    Once upon a time, there was a sweet cowgirl named Cindy Ellen, who lived with the orneriest stepmother west of the Mississippi and two stepsisters who were so nasty, they made rattlesnakes look nice! But when a fast-talkin' fairy godmother teaches Cindy Ellen a little lesson about gumption, Cindy lassos first place at the rodeo and the heart of Joe Prince....You may think you've heard the story before-but you'll get a side-splittin' bellyache after you're through with this hilarious rendition told Wild West-style!

The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story


Judy Sierra - 2000
     Damura is a beautiful girl, as kind and lovely as the little green parrot that perches on the nutmeg tree. But Damura's stepmother and stepsister mistreat her. They force her to rise before dawn, carry out all the chores, and sleep on the floor. One day, while down by the river, Damura calls out to the creatures of the wild for help. Rising from the waters, an ancient crocodile answers the call. This unusual fairy godmother, aptly named Grandmother Crocodile, outfits Damura in a sarong of gold, with slippers to match, and sends her to the palace to dance for the prince. Once he sees her, the prince knows that she will be his bride. But the fairy tale isn't quite over. Damura's wicked stepmother and stepsister are so jealous that they push Damura into the river, where she is swallowed by a crocodile. Too bad they didn't know about Grandmother Crocodile.... The Gift of the Crocodile, a tale from the Spice Islands in Indonesia, offers a colorful and dramatic twist on the universally adored Cinderella story.

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella


Paul Fleischman - 2007
    . . in Ireland . . . in Zimbabwe . . . there lived a girl who worked all day in the rice fields . . . then spent the night by the hearth, sleeping among the cinders.Her name is Ashpet, Sootface, Cendrillon . . . Cinderella. Her story has been passed down the centuries and across continents. Now Paul Fleischman and Julie Paschkis craft its many versions into one hymn to the rich variety and the enduring constants of our cultures.A Junior Library Guild SelectionGlass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella


Tony Johnston - 1998
    Rrrrrella, who also lives in the forest, would be a perfect match. But can she get past her ugly stepsisters to win the prince's heart? Full-color illustrations.

The Rough-Face Girl


Rafe Martin - 1998
    But only the girl who proves she can see him will be his bride. The two beautiful but spoiled daughters of a poor village man try their best to be chosen, but it is their Rough-Face-Girl sister, scarred on her face and arms from tending fires, who sees the Invisible Being in the wonder of the natural world.The dramatic illustrations reflect the vibrant earth colors of the native landscape and the wisdom and sensitivity of the protagonist.

Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella


Robert D. San Souci - 1999
    You may think you already know this story about a beautiful servant girl, a cruel stepmother, a magnificent ball, and a lost slipper. But you’ve never heard it for true. Now you can hear the tale from someone who was there: a poor washerwoman from the island of Martinique. She has just one thing in the world to love, her goddaughter Cendrillon. When she finds Cendrillon heartsick over a rich man’s son, at first she doesn’t know what to do. But she has sharp wits, a strong will, and the magic wand her mother left her—and soon she has a plan to give her dear Cendrillon the gift of a love that will change her life. Adapted from a traditional Creole story, this fresh retelling captures all the age-old romance and magic of Cinderella, melding it with the vivid beauty of the Caribbean and the musical language of the islands.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale


John Steptoe - 1987
    Who will the king choose?Award-winning artist John Steptoe’s rich cultural imagery of Africa earned him the Coretta Scott King Award for Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. The book also went on to win the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. This stunning story is a timeless treasure that readers will enjoy for generations.Coretta Scott King Award for IllustrationCaledcott HonorReading Rainbow BookBoston Globe-Horn Book

Snow White


Chloe Perkins - 2016
    She lived in a magnificent castle with her stepmother, a beautiful but wicked queen... The classic tale of Snow White gets a fresh twist in this debut title of a brand-new board book series, Once Upon a World. With Japan as the backdrop, and beautiful artwork from Japanese illustrator Misa Saburi, Snow White is still the same girl who meets seven dwarves and accepts a shiny red apple—but she’s totally reimagined. Once Upon a World offers a multicultural take on the fairy tales we all know and love. Because these tales are for everyone, everywhere.

Cinderella: An Art Deco Love Story


Lynn Roberts-Maloney - 2001
    This is a retelling, set in the Art Deco period of the 1930s, of the familiar story of a girl who is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, but still manages to meet her prince with the help of a fairy godmother.