Imagine that you must do whatever your parents and friends ask you to do, no matter what. This is Ella’s fate in Gail Levine’s classic re-telling of Cinderella. At birth, Ella is “blessed” by Lucinda the fairy with the gift of obedience. That is, she must obey any order given to her by anybody. When her mother dies and her father remarries, her step mother and step sisters discover her compulsion to be obedient and use it to their advantage. Ella’s wit and charm win the heart of Prince Char. Unfortunately, her gifts also earn the jealousy of her step sister Hattie. When her father leaves town, her step-family commands her to become a servant, scrubbing floors and cooking. Ella finds herself falling for Char but worries that if he marries her she would endanger Frell. After all, any enemy could use her compulsive obedience to gather state secrets or to kill the royal family. Will Ella end up with her Prince charming? Or will she choose to save him by staying away?
Levine was awarded a Newbery Honor for this humorous, fractured fairy tale. Her heroine is a strong female lead that is appealing to young girls. Magical elements abound to satisfy fantasy fans including magic, elves, ogres, giants and a fairy book that allows Ella to read others’ correspondence. The plot is similar to the original Cinderella with updates to make it more appealing to modern readers. Though written over a decade ago, the story is still a popular choice among fans of fantasy and fairy tales. This title makes an excellent read-aloud chapter book, especially appropriate for classes studying fractured fairy tales. Grades 3-7.
Levine, Gail Carson. (1997). Ella Enchanted. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
ISBN: 0060275111
Cover art link from ALIScat - a catalog of public libraries in Nassau County, New York.
All Mibs wants for her 13th birthday is to blow out thirteen dripping candles. Well, that, and to discover her savvy. A savvy is the special talent bestowed upon most Beumonts on their 13th birthday. One brother generates electricity; the other hurricanes. The Beaumont family had to move to a desolate area between Nebraska & Kansas to avoid causing natural disasters. All goes awry in the Beumont household when Mibs’ poppa is in a near-fatal car accident. Instead of her anticipated birthday party, the adults go to the hospital and she is undertaken by the local preacher’s wife. Worried about her Poppa and hoping that her yet-to-be-discovered savvy may be just the thing to cure him, Mibs stows away with her siblings and the preacher’s kids on a traveling salesman’s pink bible bus. Ingrid Law takes the reader on a thrilling roller coaster ride where the situation goes from bad to worse, as the bus travels in the wrong direction and Mibs finally discovers her true savvy.
If you enjoyed The Lightning Thief, you are likely to enjoy this title too. Law narrates the story with humor and compassion for the awkwardness felt by preteens discovering their talents while their bodies are changing. Movie rights have been purchased for this title making it a good choice for book-to-movie clubs. Grades 4-8.
Law, Ingrid. (2008). Savvy. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
ISBN: 0803733062
Cover art link from ALISCat - a catalog of public libraries in Nassau County, NY.
