CINDERELLA AND A MOUSE CALLED FRED

What you didn’t know about “Cinderella” could fill a book.

Fred is a small, gray, itchy-eared mouse befriended and named by Cinderella, referred to here as Ella. One night, a crotchety fairy godmother transforms Fred into a horse, a pumpkin into a coach, and Ella into someone “fancy”—though she dislikes her glass heels. The fairy godmother issues her stroke-of-midnight warning, and the gang heads to the ball, which is a fail: Sore-footed Ella, having lost a slipper at the ball, leaves with the other one—which she smashes—and complains about the snooty prince. Just before midnight, she and her “horse” race home, and all revert to their former selves, including the coach, but Ella saves seeds from it. Next morning, the prince seeks the slipper’s owner; when it doesn’t fit Ella’s stepsisters, he leaves. Life begins anew for Ella: She plants her seeds, wins first prize for the pumpkin that grows, and meets and falls in love with the female farmer who takes second prize. Readers will love this wonderfully written, comically snappy take on the beloved tale: Ella gets her happily-ever-after by marrying a woman and succeeding at farming. Zelinsky’s witty, colorful, dynamic illustrations, rendered in ink and assembled digitally, are masterful and depict racially diverse background characters dressed in Renaissance-era garb. Cinderella, her wife, her stepfamily, and the royal family are pale-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Everything old is new again—and keeps getting better; a charming Ella for a new generation.