Saving Cinderella: Fairy Tales and Children in the 21st Century

This book provides an overview of the genre of fairy tales in general and the world-wide Cinderella story in particular. Includes five complete Cinderella stories ready for reading aloud, from France, Germany, the USA and West Africa. Has brief description of the process of how children learn to read and explains why reading Cinderella five ways builds the critical skills necessary for raising literacy scores. Part Two contains a dictionary of fairy tale symbols and the archetypal animals and objects found in Cinderella stories to help you discover the meaning of lizards, mice, cows and birds in world mythology, folklore, and religion. Buy this book and learn how ashes, shoes, rings and spinning wheels influenced cultures as diverse as those from Kenya to Kentucky and why birds often help Cinderella get ready for the ball. Whether used as a browse-through reference, a bedtime story book, or a crash course on literacy, SAVING CINDERELLA:FAIRY TALES AND CHILDREN IN THE 21ST CENTURY offers the general reader a compelling glimpse into the life of the archetypal Sad Girl Who Makes Good and why reading her story can make your child a better reader.
From the Author
Sad Girl Makes Good: This book was drawn from my love of reading fairy tales and my conviction that the genre is as relevant today as it was centuries ago. SAVING CINDERELLA has something for everyone, whether you are curious about why Cinderella always loses her shoe, where Charles Perrault got the idea to use a pumpkin for a coach, or what the significance of a life among the ashes might be. For parents or grandparents who want to encourage a love of reading, don't miss my chapter on the Five Pillars of Literacy. For Cinderella connoisseurs, test your knowledge of the most popular animal helper found in the world-wide Cinderella story. For Montessori teachers, this book provides zoological information about animal helpers and cultural details of Cinderella's drudgery, making the book an excellent resource for including in a study of the Fundamental Needs of People.
From the Inside Flap
Rachel Hope Crossman is a Montessori elementary teacher and holds a State of CA Child Development Program Director Permit. She was introduced to world mythology as a child on the Greek island of Delphi, where she ate pomegranates as her grandfather read the story of Persephone and Demeter, and in Athens where she picnicked at the Acropolis. She has four grown children and lives in Berkeley, CA
From the Back Cover
"Rachel Hope Crossman is passionate about the importance of reading, and the primacy of story. In Saving Cinderella she explores the vital role of the fairy tale in nurturing creativity and stimulating imagination. Cinderella's trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumph have been told and retold over many centuries in many nations. Rachel Hope Crossman surveys these many Cinderellas, with their various animal helpers and magical objects, with infectious zest. Fairy tales remain as relevant today as they ever were, and their deep structures and their transformative power lie at the heart of all imaginative literature." -Neil Philip, author of The Cinderella Story.