Elly and the Smelly Sneaker: A Riches to Rags Story

by Leslie Gorin, Lesley Vamos (Illustrator)

Overview

Sometimes it’s more fun NOT to be a princess.
 
Elly has everything a girl could desire: bonbons, pretty clothes, maids to put everything in order, and a family that treats her like a princess. Except that, to her, life’s a boring, royal pain. All Elly really wants is to be with other kids—especially when they play baseball. She dreams of opening days, double plays, and joining the team. Then, one day, her fairy godfather arrives to make her wish come true. Will Elly FINALLY succeed in trading her glass slippers for a pair of smelly sneakers? A fun and inspiring twist on Cinderella that’s just right for today’s girls.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454918172
Publisher:	Sterling Children's Books
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	413,142
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 18 Years

About the Author

Before she became an author, Leslie Gorin taught on a Navajo reservation and attended film school to become an animator. But she preferred writing, and her stories and articles have appeared in such places as Highlights for Children, Spider, Hopscotch, National Public Radio, and the anthology New Mitzvah Stories for the Whole Family (Reclaiming Judaism). She is the author of Bertie Wings It! (Sterling), and her awards include a Disney Fellowship, a Luce Scholarship, a grant from the Highlights Foundation, and Runner-up for the 2014 SCBWI Barbara Karlin Work-in-Progress grant for picture book texts. Leslie lives in Eagle, ID. Learn more about her at lesliegorin.com.
 
Lesley Vamos studied at the college of Fine Arts in Australia, receiving a Distinction and Animation Honor in a Bachelor of Digital Media. Since graduating, Vamos has spent her time traveling, doodling, learning, meeting like-minded creatives, as well as experiencing as many facets of the creative industry as she can. Lesley has illustrated many books in Australia, as well as Lou Lou and Pea and the Mural Mystery for FSG (October 2016). Leslie lives in Sydney, Australia. Learn more about her at stripeddesigns.tumblr.com.

Editorial Reviews

03/13/2017
Gorin (Bertie Wings It!) inverts the Cinderella story as she introduces redheaded Ella, who’s endlessly pampered by her stepfamily and scheduled from dawn to dusk with activities like “advanced tea stirring” and “posture practice.” Ella just wants to play baseball, and she gets the chance when her gruff fairy godfather, Lefty Lou, shows up and transforms her gown and glass slippers into a dusty baseball uniform and smelly sneakers. “Just what I always wanted!” gushes Elly. “Ah, fuggedaboutit!” replies Lou. Vamos (Lou Lou and Pea and the Mural Mystery) works in a loosely drafted, Disney-lite style, focusing more on characters than backgrounds, which are mostly sparse, aside from an opening scene showcasing Ella’s lush home and a later spread highlighting her success at the ball(game). Playing the role of Prince Charming is one of Ella’s new teammates, a brown-skinned boy named Vince. He’s not looking for love, though—just a great co-captain. It’s a fairly by-the-numbers update, but readers who prefer grand slams to gowns should be tickled. Ages 3–up. Illustrator’s agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly