Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal

Written by: Paul Fleischman
Illustrated by: Julie Paschkis

  

     Paul Fleischman immersed himself into the world of Cinderella, and not just the popular Disney version of the tale that many of us have seen many times throughout our lives.  Fleischman compiled a multicultural look at this traditional fairytale to give readers a look into the wealth of Cinderella stories that exist since "ninth-century China."  He states that "traveling across the globe, it changed its clothes but not its essence. Rivalry, injustice, and the dream of wrongs righted are universal, no matter our garments."  Together with illustrator Julie Paschkins, Fleishman creates a Cinderella tale that takes lines and images from various Cinderella tales from different countries to take readers on a journey around the world through this familiar story.
     Upon first looking at the cover, my eye was immediately drawn to the vibrant colors displayed and the wealth of geometric patterns present; this cover illustration gives readers their first hint about the multicultural world they are about to enter.  This idea is further emphasized by the colorful world map depicted on the end pages.
    The first page of the story begins with the classic words, "once upon a time," which invokes the familiar start to traditional literature fairy tales.  These words are paired with a framed illustration of a girls and her mother, who are actually reading this book, which is surrounded by white background pages.  This framing device gives readers a feeling of distance from the story; however, as upon turning the page, readers are pulled into the multicultural world through vibrant, colorful background pages that depict various folk art scenes of Cinderella from the featured countries.  Despite the constantly changing illustrations with each country, the stylistic choices of the illustrator allow the reader to view the story holistically. Additionally, the author's voice remains stable throughout the tale, while weaving in various phrases and references unique to each culture, such as the kimono from Japan and the "pan dulce" candies from Mexico.
     The final two-page spread in the book is a large depiction of a multicultural wedding scene that allows the various versions of the tale to be melded into one illustration.  The illustration depicts a lively feast with various traditional foods from around the world, different styles of dress, and even the entertainment unique to various cultures to create the wedding scene.  Despite the cultural mixture that occurs on the page, the illustrator's style of creating people in similar ways allows the scene to come together in a visually-appealing way.  The text mirrors this illustration by detailing the different traditional foods of each culture within one phrase by connecting a few words representative of each.
     The final image of the story brings us back to the initial mother-daughter reading scene, but is portrayed within a different circular frame this time to give readers a sense of security at the happy closure of the story.  This security is emphasized by the entwined position of the parent and child within the illustration.  The circular frame also draws upon the idea of a globe, which is visible next to the people, to demonstrate that the story has successfully brought us around the world and back home again.  I think this story would be particularly useful during any fairy tale units within the classroom in mid to upper-elementary grades, and is a great read for readers of any age.