Ella Enchanted

I thought I'd stay in 2000 for the moment and talk a little about another children's lit winner Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. This novel won the Caudill Award in 2000 which means Illinois' kids' choice. If you were to look over the other nineteen nominees, I would guess that maybe only three of them would be familiar. One of them, View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsberg was the 1997 Newbery Medal winner. But Ella is much more popular. For those who missed Ella the first time around, a little movie starring Anne Hatheway as Ella of Frell brought the book a second round of attention.

I'll address that now. In my opinion, the book is fabulous and the movie strayed too far from the original. Surprise! Oh, I enjoyed the movie at home on DVD. It was sweet and funny and I do adore Ms. Hatheway, but it was too quirky and funny. I wished it would have been called something else so the two would be distanced. So many watch the movie first and are disappointed when the find it so unlike the book. Unfortunately, more and more children's novels are being turned into movies. 3D no less. Does everything have to be a movie? Movies turned into novelizations rarely (never) rate high as literature.
 
I confess it has been several years since I read Ella. I started reading the first page to remember Levine's style and I ended up reading almost two chapters. It is really that mesmerizing. I remember finishing Ella and rushing to the shelves to gobble up the rest of her work. I would suggest that if anyone else were to decide to do the same, don't read them all at once. Levine's work should really be savored. Tender morsels in between bites of meat and potatoes. Yes, I think I'm calling Levine's fractured fairy tales the dessert that you want to devour all at once. Just warning you that too much sweet will give you a tummy ache.
 
There are a whole series of Princess Tales. I think there are six total. They are quick reads. There is The Two Princesses of Bamarre which is similar to Ella. Something different is Dave at Night which is historical fiction with a boy as a main character. It is so well-written that I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't fantasy. There are the newer books, Fairest and Ever which are on my list, but I haven't had time for yet. I know, who skips dessert! I almost forgot The Wish which combines fantasy and reality. What I really want to tell you about though are the two Tinker Bell books. Yes! Disney commissioned Levine to write stories about the fairies of Neverland and they are just as enchanting! Great read alouds: Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg and Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand. Both of my girls enjoyed them and that was 2 or 3 years ago so we're talking a 3 and 7-year-old.
 
As for Ella, if you've honestly never read it ... It is a retelling of the fairy tale Cinderella, but throw in a ditzy fairy godmother - not even her own godmother. Fairy Lucinda gives Baby Ella the gift of obedience. So you tell the baby to stop crying and she does immediately. Tell her to eat and she will. But she will continue to eat until you tell her to stop. Tell her to hop on one foot for a day and a half and she will. She would even cut off her own head if you told her to. Ella resists the curse of obedience in her own rebellious way. Tell her to hold a bowl while you stir and she will - but she will walk around with it so that you can't actually stir the ingredients. Tell her to go get eggs and she will bring you two when you need twelve. The book is her quest to find Lucinda and have the gift/curse removed. Throw in ogres, fairies, step-sisters, a glass slipper and a Prince Charming and there you go!