BASIC DOCUMENTATION
Book Title: Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella
Author(s): Susan Lowell
Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Jane Manning
Publisher: Scholastic
Copyright Date: 2000
Genre: Fantasy
Brief Annotation:
Cindy Ellen is an ‘Old West’ version of Cinderella. Cindy Ellen is the ‘step-child’ forced to wear the old clothes and do the work. Her Godmother, Sugarfoot, comes to the rescue with her golden six-gun. The Godmother magically changes Cindy Ellen’s rags into the finest rodeo gear and returns to help Cindy Ellen get ready for the square dance by using things found in the western part of North America.
Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5
The book puts a creative ‘spin’ on an already known classic. I was fully entertained with the illustrations and unique western-American discourse. There are many chances and opportunities to use this book for focusing on different literary lessons and ideas, i.e. vocabulary in context, use of discourse with setting, and comparing one fairy tale in two different settings. But, this book would also be a great choice for reading for pleasure and entertainment also. It is really creative and fun.
Readers who will like this book:
• Readers who enjoy Fairy Tales
• Readers who enjoy variations of Cinderella
• Readers who enjoy hearing about the ‘old west’
• Readers who enjoy listening to people speak in a western style
Teaching Strategy from Tompkins:
#46 Venn Diagrams (p. 129-131)
Venn Diagrams are used to compare and contrast ideas.
I like this strategy because students can focus on the use of setting to determine the discourse used by the author. Comparing the traditional Cinderella to Cindy Ellen can lead students to compare cultural differences and geographic influences on cultures.
Question to ask about this book before a read aloud:
• What are things you think about when you are about to hear something base in ‘the old west’? (could draw a picture)
• How might an author change the Cinderella story to reflect ‘the old west’ and its cowboys?
Optional, but noted as extra effort:
1. Interest Level (age): 5-7
2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 3.6
3. List awards:
Western Writers of America Spur Award
4. Does this book have a book trailer?
Your activity choice is a great match for this book--any textset that looks at one story from different angles begs for a compare/contrast response strategy. In this case, Venn Diagrams will work!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you were entertained by this version of Cinderella. When my 5th graders studied "the wild west" as part of our SS unit on Westward Expansion, we wrote tall tales (this book would fit that writing unit well). To get ready for writing in this genre, the first thing we did was write tabloid-style article because that kind of writing is exaggerated, just like tall tales are. The articles kids wrote were hilarious. They loved it.