Cinderella—with Dogs!

Something gets hilariously lost in translation in Bailey’s fairy tale retelling, in which a cat lady Cinderella makes a wish for a fairy godmother and instead gets a pink-tutued fairy dogmother (“WOOF!”). Though Cinderella, portrayed with pale skin, expects the dogmother to whisk her to the royal ball, the four-legged guide has other ideas. Who needs a ball gown when one can wear a cozy, refashioned dog blanket? And why take a carriage to the event instead of running under the light of the full moon, howling all the way? Continuing the tail-wagging twist, the brown-skinned royal family—dog-lovers all—immediately welcome this free-spirited Cinderella for a pooch-filled turn on the dance floor. Additional humor abounds in Hartas’s depictions of Cinderella’s multiple cats and the exuberant pack of palace pooches who bowl Cinderella over with kisses. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)