CINDER EDNA, by Ellen Jackson

Quick Facts:
- Illustrated by Kevin O'Malley
- 29 pages

There is nothing subtle about the moral of Cinder Edna, which retells the familiar story of Cinderella in a near-modern setting with two impoverished protagonists instead of just one. In the story, the tale of Cinder Ella is told parallel to that of her neighbor's, Cinder Edna, who has a similar home life to Cinder Ella but deals with it in very different ways.

I'm not a huge fan of books with as overt a feminist message (or really any political message) as Cinder Edna presents. I find that in such cases the story often is sacrificed for the message, and (for me) that takes a great deal out of the magic of storytelling.

Cinder Edna has some inspired moments. However, all of these occur the story of Cinder Edna herself; the tone of Cinder Ella's story, as depicted here, is full of sarcastic comments and asides that verge on disparaging. In a story about embracing who you are, this really rubbed me the wrong way.

To demonstrate what I mean, take the following lines from the Cinder Ella storyline:

"Meanwhile, Cinder Ella's big, bright eyes filled with tears. "But, Fairy Godmother, how will I get to the ball?"

The fairy godmother was surprised that her goddaughter couldn't seem to figure anything out for herself.
- Cinder Edna, page 9

To contrast this, and to underscore Cinder Ella's utter incompetence and dependence on others, Cinder Edna is shown taking the city bus.

Now I love the idea of a Cinderella character taking control of her fate, and Cinder Edna's bus ride (during which she is shown reading to children) is a fantastic spin on the story. In fact, all of Cinder Edna's exploits are fantastic spins on the classic tale. She's cheerful and hardworking! She plays the accordion! She's not the prettiest girl around, but what does that matter anyway? She's "strong and spunky and knew some good jokes"! (Cinder Edna, page 6)

Cinder Edna's prince is similarly delightful. He's short and bespectacled and runs a recycling plant and home for orphaned kittens. His name is Rupert. Naturally, he and Cinder Edna share many interests in common, get along famously, and are set up for one of the most believable "happily ever afters" to be found in a fairy tale. The colors used to tell the story of Cinder Edna and Rupert are bright and bold and cheerful, matching the characters perfectly.

However, I find there is much to be desired in the message sent by both the writing and the illustrations of Cinder Ella's story. As the quote above demonstrates, Ellen Jackson apparently felt that in order to tell the story of spunky Cinder Edna, she needed to contrast it with a more traditional telling. So she includes Cinder Ella, who is consistently shown as whiny, incompetent, lazy, and superficial. Cinder Ella is beautiful, and that is the only thing that gets her anywhere. This, as well as the other listed traits, is captured perfectly in the following illustration (which is a small section of the larger illustration of Cinder Ella's wedding):

She's not even looking at her groom and is in the process of putting on lipstick! Furthermore, the text of Cinder Edna's story constantly takes jabs at Cinder Ella:

"Edna had tried sitting in the cinders a few times. But it seemed like a silly way to spend time."
- Cinder Edna, page 5

Additionally, consider the illustrations that accompany the text about how the two girls made it to the ball:

Cinder Ella is dolled up like a southern beauty pageant contestant, either tripping over or gasping in horror at the mice surrounding her. Either way, her fairy godmother in the background is thoroughly unamused. Cinder Edna, however, is shown dressed simply, and smiling as she reads a book called "Woofers and Tweeters" to a black child on the city bus.

Look! these pictures say. Cinder Ella is whiny and stupid and annoying and stuck in conventional gender roles, while Cinder Edna is fun and happy and capable! Cinder Ella squeals at a few mice, but Cinder Edna has no problem riding the public bus and striking up conversations with people of diverse backgrounds. Also she reads.

Again, my issue is not with Cinder Edna's story, but with the way in which the book mocks Cinder Ella in contrast. I'm sure the author intended the book's overall message to about women embracing their own abilities and staying true to themselves. However, the message that comes across is that women should embrace their own abilities and stay true to themselves as long as they are Cinder Edna. If you are pretty, or like pretty things, or aren't sure how to handle a situation, or ask for help- well, then you're pathetic and we are going to mock you. Oh, and you're destined for marriage with a vain idiot who won't actually care about you.

This is not a productive message to send our girls. Though I'm all for more Cinder Edna characters, who take care of themselves and are fine with taking a city bus to a ball, I do not think it's necessary or helpful to throw the Cinder Ellas of the world under that same bus in the process.