School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In this fractured fairy-tale version of "Cinderella," the heroine and royal family are elephants, the mean relatives are warthogs, and the guests at the ball are a veritable zoo. The fairy godmother is the Furry Godmouse, one of the groan- or giggle-inducing puns sprinkled throughout the story. Most of the traditional plot elements remain unchanged-the magical transformation, the ball, the happily-ever-after with the prince-but the fancy carriage is a limo, and the slipper is too large for everyone except Cinderelephant. Digitally rendered cartoon illustrations pop with bold black outlines and contrasting bright colors and textures. Spreads amply accommodate the sizable protagonist, adding visual humor to the story. As Cinderelephant squeezes her derriere into the limo, the Furry Godmouse's line reads, "enjoy yourself.but, and it's a big but." Cinderelephant's pink dress and pink, glittery shoes are sure to attract fans of Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy. It's a fun though less-innovative retelling than Tony Johnston's Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella (Putnam, 1998) or Ellen Jackson's Cinder Edna (HarperCollins, 1994).-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Dodd (Meow Said the Cow) proves there's still plenty of life in the oldest of fairy tales. She casts elephants in both the lead role and as the prince, moves the whole affair into the modern day (Cinderelephant goes to the ball in a white stretch limo), and offers new criteria for a soul mate: "Prince Trunky was bored. He didn't want to dance with any of the girls-he was worried they might get squashed! If only he could find someone a bit more his type." There are plenty of visual and verbal jokes-housework is still a chore, even with a vacuum cleaner and washing machine; the heroine's warthog cousins (standing in for stepsisters) meanly call her "Cinder-irrelevant"-but this is no mere spoof. In fact, the book exudes a palpable sense of an author connecting with her heroine's loneliness and yearnings, while loving every inch of Cinderelephant's plus-plus-plus-size body. That's right, it takes a pachyderm Cinderella-and an artist of Dodd's caliber-to encapsulate this familiar character's full humanity. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
