It takes courage to proffer yet another version of Perrault's classic, but Sanderson, as gifted with the turn of a phrase as she is with the stroke of a brush, delivers an exceptionally exquisite rendering. Her luminous oils conjure up a gorgeous eighteenth-century backdrop, characters in elegant dress, and a richly appointed manor house where Cinderella slaves over her stepmother and stepsisters' demands. Just as Sanderson goes to great length to set the stage, so she paints personality and emotion into each of her characters.

Children see a Cinderella who grieves for her deceased mother and a father who is caring and generous but ashamed of, and powerless to stop, his daughter's mistreatment. Among elements from the Brothers Grimm that Sanderson integrates into this telling is a white bird, whose songs soothe the sad girl as it flits among the leaves of a hazel tree, grown from a twig watered by Cinderella's tears. The luxuriously detailed costumes, the blooming gardens, and the characters' realistic features provide abundant visual interest to accompany the elegantly crafted text.