Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella

I bought this book for my four year old niece and she absolutely loves it!

Susan Lowell is a genius. You can't help but read her books with a twang in your voice, and my child loves books read with funny voices. Cindy Ellen is great because it's a "cowboy book" that boys and girls alike can really love. Susan Lowell has produced another wonderful re-telling of a classic tale. Jane Manning's pictures are great, too, they really bring life and sparkle to Ms. Lowell's words.

Cindy Ellen By Susan Lowell Cindy Ellen had stepsisters and they didn't let her do anything. One day they got an invitation to a rodeo, and the stepsisters go but they don't let Cindy go and then she got sad. Then her fairy godmother came and changed her into a nice left. At the rodeo and the dance she met the ranchers son. The ranchers son goes around to see who fits the spur then gets to Cindy's house and the stepsisters try it on, it doesn't fit, Cindy tries it on it fits, and the ranchers son and Cindy get married. The theme is good vs. evil because Cindy Ellen is good and her stepmother is bad and good is trying to win to marry the prince. The message is don't judge a book by its cover because Cindy Ellen thinks she is not beautiful just like how people think books aren't good because of its cover. The genre is fantasy fiction because there is a fairy godmother and magic. I recommend this book to somebody who has problems with there family because Cindy Ellen has a problem with her stepmother and stepsisters. I liked that it wasn't a regular Cinderella story it was a western Cinderella story. And I liked how different the fairy godmother is dressed; she is dressed like a cowgirl. Also I loved the pictures they actually looked like a real desert. And in some of the pictures they didn't need words. And I really liked that it didn't take place in castles it took place at a desert. Also I liked at tethers end when they rode off they went in a wagon. It was kind of different then others. Also she didn't get rich at the end.

I read this book with my daughters at the public library one day and started looking to buy it from that moment! While my daughters loved it -- I think I liked it more! It is even better if you can read it aloud with a drawl and a western accent. When one of my daughters was in the first grade, they had Dads take turns coming in and reading a couple of books to the children. Some of the boys began to complain when they thought I was going to read them a Cinderella story . . . but by the end of the book, they were fans, too! (Since I don't have any sons, that is the best I can offer from a boys' perspective.) A great book for everyone!

When sweet Cindy Ellen's father marries his ornery new wife, she and her nasty daughters take to picking on Cindy. This retelling of the traditional Cinderella tale is full of "twirling swirling" fun. Cindy's fairy godmother helps her get to both the wild and woolly rodeo and the square dance where Cindy Ellen meets the rodeo champion Joe Prince. Of course, sparks fly - as does Cindy at the stroke of midnight, leaving Joe Prince to search out his lost cowgirl. In this version, Cindy Ellen must gather her gumption to receive the fairy godmother's magical gifts and the result is a cowgirl who is strong as well as pretty, making this a positive read for both children and parents.