If the Shoe Fits (Whatever After #2)
Sarah Mlynowski
Scholastic Press
2013
174 pages
Available January 9, 2013
This is the second book in a charming series of fairy tales meet spunky girl Abby and her funny younger brother Jonah. The kids are determined to visit the land of Zamel again and find Snow White and claim Abby’s favorite pajamas. They try the magic mirror in the basement three nights in a row to no avail. On the fourth night, however, they are sucked through the mirror and end up on the floor of a giant coat closet in a beautiful castle. No one there knows Snow White, but the kids soon find out they are in the wrong fairy tale altogether.
Abby realizes they have entered the castle and are attending a ball—it’s the Cinderella story. Abby feels horribly underdressed. She’s wearing pink pajamas with purple polka dots and sees the Floom flag—and finds out she’s actually wearing their flag on her pajamas. The people welcome her to the party.
The ball goes like the fairy tale, Cinderella enters and dances with the prince all night and runs away as the clock is striking twelve. She leaves one glass slipper behind and the kids chase her to her home in the hopes that she might have a magic mirror at her house that will transport them back home.
Cinderella injures her foot and by morning, her toes are swollen. There is no way a glass slipper is going to fit! Her fairy godmother refuses to help saying that if she wants to become a princess, Cinderella needs to gain some responsibility for herself. The kids try to help Cinderella figure out her strengths and what kind of job she can get to please her fairy godmother and marry the prince.
The brotherly/sisterly love and quick-witted banter between Jonah and Abby is sweet and funny. Mlynowski has a great ear for dialog and humor. Spot-on characters of both children make this book a lively, fun read. Funny details like Abby hating to wear her least favorite underwear because they cause wedgies and having to eat pizza three days in a row because her parents no longer cook or do the laundry, make Abby's home life funny and relatable. I hope there are many more fairy tales waiting to be deftly retold by Sarah Mlynowski.
You don’t need to read book 1 to understand book 2, but why wouldn’t you want the first book? Both books Fairest of All and If the Shoe Fits make the perfect gift for any tween reader.
Highly, highly recommended grade 5-up.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)
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