CINDER-ELLY

Minters makes her picture-book debut with a verse update of ``Cinderella'' (see also Jackson, above) set in present-day New York City (``I'm never allowed/To speak to strangers'' Elly informs her godmother; still, her trust is easily won: ``Last time I saw you/You were two or three,'' explains ``Godma''). Riding a bike Godma makes from a trash can, Elly goes to the school basketball game where Prince Charming is the star; he asks her out for pizza but she has to get home.... Though Minters's doggerel limps a bit, her contemporary substitutions are fun. And although she's no match for Jackson's independent-minded Cinder Edna, Elly is a bit more self-reliant than the classic heroine. The book is much enhanced by Karas's sophisticated montages of the city's textures and rather muted colors enlivened with perky stylized characters plus informal doodles and graffiti that invade the text. Both books are of interest, and kids will enjoy comparing them. (Picture book. 4-10)