Cinderella's Dress by Nancy Willard

From the Publisher

With Nancy Willard's characteristic verbal wit and Jane Dyer's beautiful, detailed paintings, this charming book will be irresistible to young girls who know the Cinderella story and love it. In this version, two magpies who live outside Cinderella's window make her a magnificent dress from bits of shiny paper they've collected. The jealous stepsisters rip it apart, and Cinderella is left in rags--until thanks to her friends the magpies she finds a magic ring belonging to her late mother. Her fairy godmother appears, and a new dress, a coach made of a pumpkin, and happy endings follow.

Publishers Weekly

Lilting poetry and a couple of warm-hearted magpies add a new dimension to the familiar tale. In a tree outside Cinderella's window, two birds confer about the lonely girl inside, their plan captured in Willard's (A Visit to William Blake's Inn) deft verse: "She lights the stove and draws the water./ Her father's weak, her mother's dead./ Nobody tucks her into bed./ This stepsister they love to hate,/ let's make her our adopted daughter." Dyer's (I Love You Like Crazy Cakes) watercolors revel in a fairy-tale mix of eras and objects; Cinderella's cruel stepmother wears a two-horned medieval headdress, but there's a bicycle parked outside the door. When the famous invitation arrives, the magpies craft Cinderella a magnificent dress from tissue, leaves, petals and loot from their nest; the magpie mamma withholds only a golden ring she wears on her tail. But the stepsisters ruin the dress, and Cinderella cries, "If only I hadn't lost the ring/ Mother gave me before she died./ She said `Hammered from fairy gold,/ this simple band can change your fate.' " Mamma magpie, dismayed, realizes that her ring is really Cinderella's, and her decision to return it ushers in the reversal of the girl's fortunes. Omitting the scenes at the ball, the story's focus shifts away from courtship and romance, and instead considers the tenets of friendship. Dyer's art and Willard's poetry seem entwined; it's a graceful match, likely to cast its spell on fairy-tale fans. Ages 4-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Barbara Troisi - Children's Literature

Full-page portraits of stunning gowns, a unique rhyming scheme, and the charming goodness of two magpies grace the pages of yet another adaptation to the Cinderella collection. Author Nancy Willard and illustrator Jane Dyer have crafted a fairytale brimming with nifty twists and delicate watercolors that will beckon little girls who are enchanted by sparkling jewels, ribbons, lace, and happy endings. The cozy nest that houses a pair of scavenger magpies allows them to peer into the wealthy merchant's windows and snatch up a multitude of gems that shimmer, dream, and shine. Cinderella's beauty shines through and they take her "under their wing" creating the dress of their adopted daughter's dreams to wear at the prince's ball. It's half past eight and the jealous stepsisters, Flora Ann and Fanny Alice, depart to the palace while Cinderella attempts to mend the torn and tattered magpie's handiwork. Thinking her dreams are dashed, Cinderella expresses regret for loosing her mother's gold ring—the one trinket mamma magpie wore on her tail and failed to share. She shook it off, the fairy godmother appeared, and the rest is magical history. "I got it from the magpie's beak." 2003, Blue Sky Press, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-It's all about the dress, in this retelling of the familiar tale. Who will actually make it, how will it be created, and what kind of gown will it be? Prior to the entrance of Cinderella's fairy godmother, two magpies observe the girl's harsh treatment from the tree outside her family's home and vow to make her their adopted daughter. Their talents include creating beautiful things from their well-stocked nest of treasures, everything from shiny paper scraps to squares of pretty lace. The birds also possess one cherished prize, a gold ring, which as it turns out was "hammered from fairy gold" and given to Cinderella by her mother before her death. When the ball invitation arrives, the birds secretly craft an exquisite gown for her, but her ill-favored stepsisters handle it until it rips to shreds. The magpies then learn that Cinderella is the owner of their treasured ring and return it in time for her to make a wish and be rewarded by her fairy godmother. Willard has focused on a detail of the traditional story and expanded it into a yarn of its own. The descriptive rhyming text is uneven in places but reflective of the enchanting mood. Muted watercolors bring out the whimsy and fanciful spirit of the story. Overall, however, both the text and the art of this unconventional spin on the tale seem to get bogged down in the window dressing and lack the tension or emotional resonance of a memorable offering.-Rita Soltan, Oakland University, Rochester, MI Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Willard, who previously shed new light on everyone from Blake (A Visit to William Blake's Inn, 1981) to Bosch (Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch, 1991), now turns her lens on Cinderella. While in other versions the young heroine's ball dress comes by way of mice and godmothers, in this case the dressmakers are none other than two hard-working magpies with a nest full of cast-offs that they turn into everything from wreaths to shoes. Told from the sympathetic birds' point of view, the traditional story (with a fairy godmother still saving the day) is played out in verse and illustration. Dyer's art, in a soft translucent wash, fills the pages and children will enjoy seeking out the two magpies and other animals on each page, each in a piece of human clothing. This simply told version, with its rich details of shimmery things will be a lovely addition to any fairytale collection. (Picture book. 4-10)

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