Good Books for Kids | YA and Kid Reviews Since 2006

For those of you who are annoyed with the "Cinderella heritage", you might finally find relief with Cinder Edna. What I mean by this is that Cinder Edna is just a bit more modern and a lot more like an American girl than a medieval serf. Cinder Edna does suffer quietly as she serves her nasty step-sisters, but she also is a great deal more assertive and isn't so prone to relying on others to solve her problems.

For example, while Cinderella was content after a busy day to sit by the hearth in her ashes, Cinder Edna took on additional work such as mowing her neighbors lawns so that she could have some money of her own. (She also taught herself to play a musical instrument and learned some jokes so she'd be fun at parties). This strategy, in fact, paid off when her own fairy godmother failed to appear. Cinder Edna cashed out her savings and bought her own gown to go to the party, then hopped a cab.

This fun contrast between the two girls continues throughout the story. And while I wouldn't say this book is a replacement for Cinderella, it is a great deal of fun and my daughter's second grade class -- boys and girls -- really enjoyed it.

Rating ::: A-
Good Read-Aloud. Okay art. By far the best part of Cinder Edna is the silly fun and the fact that it gives adults and children lots to talk about. Definitely recommend this one.

Cinder Edna has an Accelerated Reading (AR) designation of 4.5 which means that the average 4th Grader in the 5th month of school should be able to read it without getting frustrated by the vocabulary. It can be read aloud to any age.

Cinder Edna
by Ellen Jackson
Kevin O'malley (Illustrator)

Reading Resources:
Word Count: 1,666
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.5 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 12497
Lexile: AD610L