The story of Cinderella is one that every child is introduced to as a traditional fairy tale. The edition of the story that I am using is one written by Fiona French in 1987 and published by Oxford University Press. This story is one of magic and mystery that can be enjoyed by any age group. We are enabled to make judgement calls on many different characters from a proud, haughty stepmother and her two similar daughters, to the beautiful Cinderella and her magical fairy godmother. The reader will be enabled to form opinions on the characters and decide what it is they like or dislike about their personalities. A range of emotions can be felt through reading the story and although alot of the emotions are not happy or enjoyable ones there is still the cliche "happily ever after" ending synonymous with fairy tales.
             This version of Cinderella, like most others, has illustrations. The child can see clearly in the pictures what they are going to be reading about. The pictures change in colour throughout the book and this reflects the mood of the book and also the person we are reading about. Initially we see Cinderella in bright colours with a smiling, beautiful face and her new 'family' in shadows looking sour faced. As you progress through the book Cinderella wears black rags with her stepmother and stepsisters dressed in the splendour she once took for granted. The fairy godmother comes in a dark scene and appears as a warm bright light, she is wearing pink clothing and a smile, hope is reappearing. When Cinderella triumphs over the life she is now leading we see a shift back to the rich grandeur which she once knew so well. The colours now are gold and bright reds. She dazzles and sparkles alongside the prince and the
             others look drab in comparison to the beauty she radiates. It is easy to fall in love with such a beauty but the children are enabled to see that beauty is not just skin deep when
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