kiddieliter

The fairy tale entitled “Cinderella” is one of the most beloved of all the folktales.  It is the story of a beautiful young maiden whose daily hard work was unappreciated and taken for granted by a mean stepmother and two ugly stepsisters.  When the stepsisters and stepmother, dressed in finery, were on their way to a ball hosted by Prince Charming, Cinderella, dressed in rags, uttered her desire to accompany them.   She was told to go back to work because the Prince would never want to dance with a girl in rags.  Cinderella ran back to the kitchen and sobbed in despair, only to be comforted by mice (who were the only friends that she knew).

She then heard another voice — the voice of her Fairy Godmother!  The magical transformation of an ordinary pumpkin into a grand coach with a coachman sitting on top, six mice into six beautiful white horses, and Cinderella’s raggedy clothes into a beautiful gown befitting a princess simply by waving her wand elicits a desire within readers and listeners for a fairy godmother of their own!

When Cinderella arrived at the ball, the Prince was smitten by her striking beauty and asked her to dance, causing the mean stepsisters to think that Cinderella truly was an unknown princess.

The headiness of the event caused Cinderella to forget her Fairy Godmother’s admonition that she must leave before midnight!  The striking of the clock caused her to remember, but her magical things were already disappearing as she ran from the ballroom; the only thing that remained was one of her glass slippers.  That slipper was the identifying object that led Prince Charming to his future wife, Cinderella, whose ugly stepsisters wept in a jealous rage over Cinderella’s enviable fate.  (Their feet had been too big to fit the slipper!)

The pop-up illustrations within this abbreviated version of this rags-to-riches, happily-ever-after folktale will enthrall ALL who read or see this book!

This story is about a small hungry boy who needs something to eat. He visits an old lady who tells him she has no food, so he offers a stone to make soup. By the time they finish they have a wonderful soup. After they eat, he takes his soup and continues on his journey thinking about the wonderful dinner for the next day.

 Anna and the Seven Swans is a warm story about a little girl that is told to look after her little brother Ivan while her parents are away. Anna mistakenly turns her attention away from Ivan for a moment too long and he is captured by the evil witch, Baba Yaga’s, swans. On Anna’s journey to get Ivan back, she stops along the way to perform three acts of kindness that benefit her in the end. This is a magical tale that depicts the power of kindness with wonderful illustrations.

A little gingerbread boy thinks he can outrun everybody. Everybody was trying to eat him and he managed to get away. He thought he was getting good at outrunning everybody until he met his match and wasn’t so lucky. He was eaten.

About the time that Jamie O’Rourke’s wifes back goes out, he is lazy but lucky, and traps himself a leprechaun.  From this leprechaun, Jamie wins a single wish.  He wishes for all the potatoes he can eat. However, he may have bitten off more than he can chew.