You may think you already know this story about a beautiful servant girl, a cruel stepmother, a magnificent ball, and a lost slipper. But you've never heard it for true.

Now you can hear the tale from someone who was there: a poor washerwoman from the island of Martinique. She has just one thing in the world to love, her goddaughter Cendrillon. When she finds Cendrillon heartsick over a rich man's son, at first she doesn't know what to do. But she has sharp wits, a strong will, and the magic wand her mother left her--and soon she has a plan to give her dear Cendrillon the gift of a love that will change her life.

Adapted from a traditional Creole story, this fresh retelling captures all the age-old romance and magic of Cinderella, melding it with the vivid beauty of the Caribbean and the musical language of the islands.

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Georgia Children's Book Award. It was recognised in the Junior category by the North Carolina Children's Book Award. It also was recognised in the Grades K-4 category by the Americas Award.

This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 1998 by Simon & Schuster .

Robert D. San Souci is the critically acclaimed author of many popular books for young people. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.