Cinderella Smith - by Stephanie Barden (Paperback)

About the Book

Cast off by her old friends, Cinderella agrees to help a new student deal with the stepsisters she will soon have, and meantime, a former friend tries to prevent Cinderella from dancing the lead in their tap recital. Illustrations.

From the Back Cover

Cinderella Smith has problems with a capital P. Her new teacher laughs at her name, she has to sit at the smart-boys table, and her old best friend is ignoring her. Now the new girl, Erin, has asked for her advice on wicked stepsisters. But Cinderella doesn't have any stepsisters, wicked or otherwise! And to make things worse, she's got to find her ruby red tap shoe before the fall dance recital!

How will Cinderella solve her capital P problems before it's too late?

Review Quotes

"Funny and clever! Readers will love this modern day Cinderella. It's a delight...with the most satisfying ending." - Patricia Reilly Giff, Newbery Honor winner and author of the best-selling Polk Street School series
"Readers will love Cinderella Smith, who loses her tap shoe but never her charming, spunky spirit." - Patricia MacLachlan, Newbery award-winning author of Sarah, Plain and Tall
"Her name may come from a fairy tale, but Cinderella Smith is a contemporary tap-dancing girl with a fresh, funny voice and a creative approach to life's ups and downs. She may lose a lot of shoes but Cinderella is sure to win the hearts of young readers, as she did mine. As Cinderella would say, 'the more the merrier!'" - Betty G. Birney, author of the award-winning According to Humphrey series
No, Jacqueline-Kathryn "Cinderella" Smith does not sleep by an ashy fireplace. Nor does she have an evil stepmother, just "a regular kind of mom who is usually nice but kind of strict." However, Cinderella does lose shoes-so often that she has to write her name and address on each one. Now she can't find a special ruby-red tap shoe, which she needs to play the Pumpkin Blossom Fairy in her dance recital. Alas ("something I say when I'm a little bit frustrated and a little bit sad"), she has an even bigger problem: new girl Erin, assuming Cinderella got her nickname for a different reason, asks Cinderella's help in investigating her newly acquired stepsisters to see if they are wicked. Cinderella's bouncy energy, captured expertly in Goode's emotive line drawings, is infectious; readers will delight in her expressions (e.g., dribbly-spit for Seattle drizzle) and enthusiastic use of adverbs ("very, extremely mad"). Her energy could be grating, but Barden gently pokes fun at her protagonist; Cinderella knows, for example, that when her mom's eyebrow goes up, it's "mostly a very bad sign." Once the last shoe is found and the last page turned, it's hard to leave Cinderella behind. Alas. Rachel Smith - Horn Book Magazine
Fans of Clementine and Ramona will enjoy good-natured Cinderella's triumph over mean girls and her success at a tap-dance recital, all embellished by Diane Goode's simple black-line illustrations. - Seattle Times
Chapter book readers will love this light-hearted story of a missing dance shoe, escaped pets and possible wicked step-sisters - Huffington Post Blog
The light drama gives readers a nonthreatening environment in which to explore how to deal with friendship difficulties, and they will root for the likeable Cinderella from start to finish. Loose, cheerful line drawings pepper the pages, adding to the overall upbeat feel of the book. - School Library Journal