Books with title A Modern Cinderella

Among green New England hills stood an ancient house, many-gabled, mossy-roofed, and quaintly built, but picturesque and pleasant to the eye; for a brook ran babbling through the orchard that encompassed it about, a garden-plat stretched upward to the whispering birches on the slope, and patriarchal elms stood sentinel upon the lawn, as they had stood almost a century ago, when the Revoiution rolled that way and found them young.

Beautifully illustrated real fairy tale magicNew in paperbackSweet Cinderella is forced to spend her days waiting on her cruel stepsisters and stepmother, almost forgetting that she, too, was once a fine young lady with handsome clothes and a soft bed to sleep in. But when Cinderella is left at home on the night of the Prince's ball, her fairy godmother turns pumpkin into coach, mice into horses, lizards into footmen, and Cinderella's rags into a beautiful ball gown. At the ball Cinderella secretly captures the heart of the Prince, but it is not until he finds the true owner of the delicate glass slipper that the two can live happily ever after.

Cinderella's transformation from poor girl to princess never fails to captivate young ones, and this stellar retelling, exquisitely illustrated by Susan Jeffers, is a must for every library. When the original version of this book was published in 1985, Publishers Weekly called it "a treasure for all ages," and The New York Times declared, "Fairy-tale aficionados will be mesmerized." For this hardcover reissue, Susan Jeffers retouched her pen-and- ink and dye illustrations, making them even richer. Her brilliant artwork is showcased in a new interior design featuring a fifth-color gold border. Embossed gold foil type on the jacket of this large-format picture book trumpets the arrival of the girl who went from rags to riches.

The traditional fairy tale is retold in irreverent, playful rhyme that's perfect for reading aloud, and brilliantly accompanied by Nick Sharratt's bright and vibrant illustrations. There are flaps to lift and pop-up surprises on every page: open the invitation to the Royal Ball, see the Fairy Godmother appear in a puff of smoke, and watch Cinderella's pumpkin magically turn into a magnificent coach! Includes an audio CD read by Anna Chancellor, with two tracks: listen to the story alone, or follow along with the book by turning the pages when you hear the chime.

This brilliant edition of a timeless story is sure to become the favorite of a generation. Readers young and old will be enchanted by the vision and mastery of Kinuko Y. Craft's luminous paintings, inspired by the lavish artwork of late seventeenth-century France and embellished with extraordinary borders and ornamentation. Rich with radiant color and astonishing detail, here is a dream come true for anyone who has ever believed in living happily ever after.

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832. She was one of four daughters of Bronson Alcott, an educator and philosopher (one who seeks an understanding of the world and man's place in it), and Abigail May Alcott. Her father was unsuited for many jobs and also unwilling to take many of them, and as a result he was unable to support his family. The Alcotts were very poor. Her father moved the family to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1834 and founded the Temple School, in which he planned to use his own teaching methods. The school failed, and the family moved to Concord, Massachusetts, in 1840.Alcott's father was a strong supporter of women's rights and an early abolitionist (opponent of slavery), and his friends were some of the most brilliant and famous men and women of the day. His friends included Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), Margaret Fuller (1810–1850), and Theodore Parker (1810–1860). Alcott and her sisters became friends with these visitors as well, and were even tutored by them at times. This combination of intellectual richness and actual poverty helped Alcott develop her sense of humor.Alcott soon realized that if she and her sisters did not find ways to bring money into the home, the family would be doomed to permanent poverty. In her early years she worked at a variety of tasks to make money to help her family, including teaching, sewing, and housework. At sixteen she wrote a book, Flower Fables (not published for six years), and she wrote a number of plays that were never produced. By 1860 her stories and poems were being published in the Atlantic Monthly. During the Civil War (1861–65; a war fought in the United States between the states in the North and the states in the South mainly over the issue of slavery), Alcott served as a nurse until her health failed. Her description of the experience in Hospital Sketches (1863) brought her work to the attention of many people.The attention seemed to die out, however, when she published her first novel, Moods, in 1865, and she was glad to accept a job in 1867 as the editor of the juvenile magazine Merry's Museum. The next year she produced the first volume of Little Women, a cheerful and attractive account of her childhood. The character Jo represented Alcott herself, and Amy, Beth, and Meg represented her sisters. The book was an instant success, and a second volume followed in 1869. The resulting sales accomplished the goal she had worked toward for twenty-five years: the Alcott family had enough money to live comfortably.After Little Women set the direction, Alcott continued producing similar works. She wrote An Old-fashioned Girl (1870), Little Men (1871), and Work (1873), an account of her early efforts to help support the family. During this time she took an active role in speaking out about the danger of drinking alcohol, and she also campaigned for women's suffrage (right to vote). She also toured Europe. In 1876 she produced Silver Pitchers, a collection containing "Transcendental Wild Oats," a description of her father's failed attempts to found a communal group (where people live together and share ownership and use of property) in Fruitlands, Massachusetts. In later life she produced a book almost every year and maintained a loyal following of readers.