Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

1. Ella Enchantedby Gail Carson Levine Mary Stec LIS 403LEB

2. OUTLINE: • Beginnings • Literary fairy tale • Levine’s twist on an old tale • Levine’s background • Story analysis • Discussion • Annotated bibliography

3. Charles Perrault • Born to a wealthy French family • Well educated • Served King Louis XIV • At age 67 began to write his Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals • Best know fairy tales: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots

4. Illustrations by Gustav Doré Although tales came from the common folk, they were adapted for the wealthy.

5. Messages Moral: Beauty is a treasure rare. Who complains of being fair? Yet there’s still a something more That good fairies have in store. It’s that little gift called grace, Weaves a spell round form and face, Of each word makes magic, too, Lends a charm to all you do. This it wasn’t and nothing less Cinderella’s fairy dress! And if you would learn the way How to get that gift today How to point the golden dart That shall pierce the Prince’s heart Ladies, you have but to be Just as kind and sweet as she! Representation of women figures: “Carol de Dobay Rifelj contends that they are portrayed as victims --weak, passive, unable to defend themselves” Noted scholars of the subject: • Bruno Bettelheim • Jack Zipes

6. Literary Fairy Tale = written down, static “Fairy tales are the original fantasies. These sweepingly romantic sagas and adventures incorporate magic, enchantments, transformations, quests, tasks, and trials; and supernatural beings such as witches, ghosts, fairies, giants, and talking animals.”(NoveList)

7. Cinderella • Over a thousand variations of the Cinderella tale • Plot line gave Levine an idea for an assignment • New twist – the curse! “I usually write about issues that trouble me. In Ella the issue was being too compliant.” (Cynsations blog)

8. Gail Carson Levine • Born September 17, 1947 • Creative family • Father was an artist • Mother wrote plays for her students • Worked in social welfare area for 27 years • Wrote Ella Enchanted as an assignment for a writing class while commuting to work • Took 9 years to get published

9. Ella Enchanted Awards (Grades 5-8) • Newbery Honor Book • California Young Reader Medal • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award (Vermont) • Iowa Teen Award • Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award • Arizona Young Readers’ Award • Young Hoosier Book Award (Indiana) • ALA Notable Children’s Book • ALA Best Book for Young Adults • Maine Student Book Award • Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award (Illinois) • ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers • ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice • IRA/CBC Young Adults’ Choice • Publishers Weekly Best Book

10. Ella Enchanted Analysis • Retelling of “Cinderella” with changes made to Ella’s character • Wanted to get rid of the “goody-two-shoes” attitude • Provides an explanation for Cinderella’s meek behavior in the original story • Extends the plot line to include more events, especially those prior to how the original story begins

11. Ella Enchanted Analysis (Cont.) • Reason for father’s absence – more realistic for kids today • Prince is introduced early in the story so readers get to know him - foreshadowing • Told in first person so we as readers know her thoughts – we root for her • Suspense

12. Appealing Features • HUMOR – “By the time she is a teenager, Ella has perfected the art of turning any imprecision in a command back on its giver.” (Kirkus Reviews) • Strong female character – first person narrative • Bright • Witty • Resourceful • Good versus evil, romance • Internal battle – loving the prince but having to give him up – Rescues herself as she rescues the prince • Familiar story

13. Discussion Questions • Perrault ends his Cinderella with a moral for children. Are the lessons of Levine’s tale apparent to children even though they are not listed at the end? What are those lessons? • According to the Literature Resource Center, Levine believes that she wrote Ella Enchanted as a lesson to herself. She says, “The meaning of what one writes is rarely transparent. Many people are cursed with obedience and with attending too much to other people’s expectations. We are cursed with constraints on our freedom to act as we wish, even uncertainty about what we wish. I know I am!” • Publisher’s Weekly Review offers the only hint of criticism about Ella Enchanted when stating, “Although the pace of the story flags in spots, and the author never wholly engages a suspension of disbelief (Ella’s escapes often come too easily – for example, when she tames ogres who want to make a meal of her)…” Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

14. Bibliography Bottigheimer, Ruth B. “France’s First Fairy Tales: The Restoration and Rise Narratives of les Facetieuses Nuictz du Seigneur Francois Straparole.” Marvels & Tales 19.1 (Apr. 2005): 17-32. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. University of Illinois Urbana, IL. 30 Sept. 2007 <http://find.galegroup.com.proxy2.library.uiuc.edu/‌itx/‌start.do?prodId=EAIM>. This article provided me background knowledge about the history of fairy tales being passed on from wet nurses to the wealthy. The majority of this article is devoted to following Straparola’s tales from Italy to France. “Charles Perrault.” Literature Resource Center. Thomson Gale. University of Illinois Urbana, IL. 30 Sept. 2007 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/‌itweb/‌?db=LitRC>. Literature Resource Center provided information about Charles Perrault’s writings, background, and critcal reception. This source also provided a list of further readings about the author, focusing on criticism of his works. “Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper.” Perrault’s Fairy Tales. Classics Illustrated. 30 Sept. 2007 <http://classics-illustrated.com/>. This website offers Charles Perrault’s text and Gustav Dore’s illustrations for seven of Perrault’s fairy tales. I used the illustrations along with the moral at the end of the fairy tale. “Gail Carson Levine.” Harper Collins Children’s Books. 2006. 19 Sept. 2007 <http://www.harperchildrens.com/‌authorintro/‌index.asp?authorid=12385>. Gail Carson Levine’s website provides a biography, book list and summaries, reading guides, author’s notes and interview. This site is sponsored by her publisher HarperCollins.

15. Bibliography Hastings, A. Walter, Dr. “Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted (1997).” Northern State University. 10 Dec. 2005. Rpt. in Lecture. English 240 Literature for Younger Readers. 10 Dec. 2005. Northern State University. 27 Aug. 2007 <http://www.northern.edu/‌hastingw/‌ella.html>. Information from this site that was helpful was the background about the different approaches used to “modernize” fairy tales. This site also discussed modifications made to the original fairy tale as well as noting it as a coming of age tale. Heiner, Heidi Ann. “What is a Fairy Tale?” SurLaLune Fairy Tales. 2 July 2007. 27 Sept. 2007 <http://www.surlalunefairytales.com>. This site offers a comprehensive study on the history of fairy tales, studies that have been done about women and fairy tales, children and fairy tales and Disney and fairy tales. Numerous links are provided to discussion boards, articles, and books that focus on fairy tales and all of it helped me build background knowledge. Judy, Freeman. “Fantasy Versus Realistic Fiction: Teaching Genres to Middle Grade Readers.” NoveList. EBSCO. Barrington Middle School Prairie Campus Barrington, IL. 19 Sept. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com/>. Freeman describes practical ways to teach students the difference between fantasy and realistic fiction through booktalking. Specific examples of books to use with grades three to eight will highlight the particular elements of both genres. I considered these elements while reading Ella Enchanted and creating this presentation.

16. Bibliography Leitich Smith, Cynthia. “Author Update: Gail Carson Levine.” Weblog entry. 2 May 2006. Cynsations. 31 Sept. 2007 <http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/‌2006/‌05/‌author-update-gail-carson-levine.html>. This blog details an interview with Gail Carson Levine just after her new book Fairest was published. Many of Levine’s comments revolve around how she gets her ideas, the connection between Fairest and Ella Enchanted and her growth as a writer. Levine, Gail Carson. Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith. Cynthia Leitich Smith. 2007. 21 Sept. 2007 <http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/‌lit_resources/‌authors/‌interviews/‌GailCarsonLevine.html>. This is the first interview conducted via email between Gail Carson Levine and Cynthia Leitich Smith. Questions dealing with story ideas, writing research and author’s background are included in this interview. Rev. of Ella Enchanted. Kirkus Review (Apr. 1997). NoveList. EBSCO. University of Illinois Urbana, IL. 20 Sept. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com/>. The Kirkus Review included a description of Ella’s character that I could not have worded more accurately. I included this direct quotation in my presentation. This review also supported my own thoughts about why this book would succeed with young people. Rev. of Ella Enchanted. Publishers Weekly (Apr. 1998). This review was actually retrieved through NoveList where several reviews were listed for the book. I was unable to gather all of the information regarding this source so I have listed what I know. This review was particularly helpful because it addressed the pacing of the book. I wanted to use this as part of a discussion question I formed for the group.