Lowell, Susan. 2000. Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella. Ill. By Jane Manning. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 0060274468.
Plot Summary
Sweet Cindy Ellen suddenly has the “orneriest woman west of the Mississippi” as her new step-mother, complete with two nasty step-sisters. She soon finds herself spending less time on her horse and more time tending to the many chores around the ranch while her mean step-sisters do nothing. When the “biggest cattle king for miles around” announces a rodeo and square dance for all the neighbors, the step-sisters gussy up for the celebration, leaving Cindy in the dust. But Cindy’s fairy godmother, with her golden six-gun shooting sparks of fairy dust, quickly comes to Cindy’s aid and outfits Cindy and her horse properly for the big rodeo – right down to diamond-studded spurs.
Cindy rides off to the rodeo and quickly captures the attention of the cattle king’s son, Joe Prince, but races away before he learns her name. She returns the next evening for the square dance, again equipped by her fairy godmother, this time capturing Joe Prince’s heart. When the clock begins to strike midnight, though, Cindy “hightail[s] it out of there” leaving only a sparkling spur on the trail. Of course, Joe finds the spur and tracks Cindy Ellen to her father’s ranch. When the spur fits, they get hitched and ride off into the sunset where they live happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
In this Cinderella tale with western swing, Lowell provides a unique twist to the oft-told story. Cindy Ellen’s fairy godmother throws in a little something extra when she helps Cindy prepare for the rodeo: the gift of “gumption.” This simple addition takes our heroine from beautiful mystery woman to an energetic competitor not content to sit on the sidelines. With her new found “gumption,” Cindy jumps spurs-first into the rodeo crying, “My turn!”
By including the rodeo in addition to the “night at the ball” square dance, Lowell allows this Cinderella to wrangle her Prince with her horsemanship, not just her beauty, and deftly defuses sexist arguments against the familiar fairy tale. However, this twist will go largely unnoticed by Lowell’s intended audience; they will simply enjoy the hilarious take on a favorite princess. The bold illustrations clearly place Cindy Ellen and friends in the dry western desert region of the USA and the bright colors draw the eye to the southwestern attire. Drawn from a variety of perspectives and portraying the characters’ true personalities, the illustrations combined with the western vernacular are sure to draw forth smiles.
When read aloud, all ages will appreciate this story – ages 3 to 12 gathered ‘round as I opened this book. You might want to test your “Yee-haw” before reading, though!
Awards and Review Excerpts
Western Writers of America Spur Award
Kirkus Review – “Bright, stylish…. Manning tricks out her characters in dazzling modern cowboy dress.”
Horn Book Review - “Expressive regional turns of phrase and exuberant full-color comic illustrations in skewed perspectives place the action squarely in the dry desert of the West.”
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