25 Versions of Cinderella
Fairytale retellings are some of my most favorite types of books to read. I think because they are equal parts comfortable, I already know the general storyline, and new with different takes and surprises. So, I was originally going to just do a list of fairy tale retellings, but there are sooooo many options, I needed to narrow it down!
Library and Blog Overlap
Enter, a HUGE project we’re doing at the library. We reorganizing all of our picture books into broad subjects instead of shelving them by the author’s last name. One such subject is “Tales” which will include fairy tales, folk tales, nursery rhymes, and songs. And as I’m pulling books off the shelf, I never realized how many versions of Cinderella existed before! And by so many different authors. We’re going to relabel them all as “E Cinderella” so that kids can find what they’re looking for more easily.
Back to my blog post, I decided to focus just on versions of Cinderella. This list includes 25 versions of Cinderella and it barely scratches the surface. The “oldest known oral version of the Cinderella story is the ancient Greek story of Rhodopis, a Greek courtesan living in the colony of Naucratis in Egypt…” [Wikipedia]
Other authors create an entirely new world or take on the traditional story as well. Sometimes the story is written from the perspective of another character, sometimes the story focuses on what would happen if… Different versions of Cinderella exist around the world at different times making it a truly universal tale. Below are just 25 versions of Cinderella, a starting point of picture books, middle grade novels, and YA.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
25 Versions of Cinderella
- Cinderella by Chloe Perkins and Sandra Equihua Amazon | Bookshop
- The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo, illustrated by Ruth Heller Amazon | Bookshop
- Seriously, Cinderella Is So Annoying! The Story of Cinderella as Told by the Wicked Stepmother by Trisha Speed Shaskan, illustrated by Gerald Guerlais Amazon | Bookshop
- Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story by Rebecca Hickox, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand Amazon | Bookshop
- Fair, Brown, and Trembling: An Irish Cinderella by Jude Daly
- The Rough-Faced Girl by Rafe Martin, illustrated by David Shannon Amazon | Bookshop
- Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Brian Pinkney Amazon | Bookshop
- The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story by Penny Pollock, illustrated by Ed Young
- Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella by Susan Lowell, illustrated by Jane Manning Amazon | Bookshop
- Cinderella by Marcia Brown Amazon | Bookshop
- Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Al-Ling Louie, illustrated by Ed Young Amazon | Bookshop
- Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley Amazon | Bookshop
- Cinderella by K. Y. Craft Amazon
- Walt Disney’s Cinderella by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Mary Blair
- Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe Amazon | Bookshop
- Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt Amazon | Bookshop
- Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Julie Paschkis Amazon | Bookshop
- Mechanica by Betsy Cornwall Amazon | Bookshop
- The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang Amazon | Bookshop
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine Amazon | Bookshop
- Ash by Malinda Lo Amazon | Bookshop
- Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Amazon | Bookshop
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer Amazon | Bookshop
- Geekerella by Amazon | Bookshop
- So This Is Love by Amazon
If you’re interested in purchasing any of the titles above from my list of 25 Versions of Cinderella, please use my affiliate links for Amazon or Bookshop. When you purchase from the links above, I will earn a commission as an affiliate.
