Retelling Fairy Tales: Cinderella

Aschenputtel. Cenerentola. Cendrillon. Cinder Maid. Yeh-Shen. Tam. She’s known by many names in many cultures and she’s the star of one of the most popular fairy tales: Cinderella. The tale of a girl rising from the ashes is still popular in literature today (and on the big & small screens) with many Cinder-girl remixes published over the years. We’ve got descriptions of some of our favorites below and more titles on our Fairy Tales board on Pinterest. And remember, fairy tales make children more intelligent! Albert Einstein said so.

Twisted Cinderella Tales:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A cyborg Cinderella featuring all the basics: a ball, a “slipper”, an evil stepmother/caretaker, step sisters, a prince, non-human friends, and a “godmother”. Of course, the bonus is that there’s also an evil Queen! Cinder is the first book in a four-part series called the Lunar Chronicles. Rumor has it the other books will be based on fairy tales, too. (Cinder is also available for your listening pleasure in our downloadable audiobooks collection.)

Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
In a novel based on Chinese Cinderella tales, fourteen-year-old stepchild Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude, as her stepmother cruelly mutilates her own child’s feet so that she alone might marry well.

Bewitching by Alex Flinn
Tells the story of Kendra, a witch (we first met her in Beastly), and the first three-hundred years of her life, including takes on a classic fairy tale, the 1666 plague in Britain, the Titanic disaster, and the story of a modern-day, plain stepsister.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
At birth, Ella of Frell was given the gift of obedience by a fairy. Ella soon realizes that this gift is little better than a curse, for how can she truly be herself if at any time anyone can order her to hop on one foot, or cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom–and she’ll have to obey? Ella’s quest to break the curse and discover who she really is, is both funny and poignant. (Ella Enchanted is also available via OneClickDigital.)

Ash by Malinda Lo
In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.

Also check out: 

• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
• Fairy Tale Weddings by Debbie Macomber
• Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella by Susan Lowell
• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman
• The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
• Find more remixed Cinderella (and a few Cinder-Fella) tales on our Pinterest board.

More fairy tale fun:

• Amazing Fairy Tale Artwork by Kirsty Mitchell via io9.com
• More Fairy Tales Coming to the Big Screen via NextMovie.com
• Want Snow White retellings? Read our post from last month
• SurLaLune Fairy Tales – A great website filled with fairy tale goodness created and updated by librarian Heidi Anne Heiner. You can read the annotated Cinderella story, find a list of even more modern retellings, and find out about similar stories across cultures.

Are we missing your favorite retelling of Cinderella? Tell us in the comments!