Cynthia Rylant's Cinderella is the version of the popular tale that I became familiar with as a child, and still am fond of as an adult reader and educator. Although the predictability and storyline is already known, Rylant's language captivates the reader as we feel truly sorry for how she is treated by the evil in her life. Rylant expresses the differentiaton between "light" and "dark," similarly as Kate DeCamilo expresses in The Tale of Despereaux.
Dark (Evil): Wicked Stepmother and Stepsisters ~ "Like roses, which do not bloom across doorways, Love itself did not ever linger."
Light (Good): Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world?"
Rylant also capitalizes the word "Love" as if giving it human characteristics, and comparing it to a force that brings Cinderella and the Prince together. ~ "In silence, Love found them."
Mary Blair's illustrations are images full of color that also depict the mood and tone of the story. The simplicity of the images coupled with use of earthtones and subtle color combinations add to the wonder and excitement of this worldly-known tale.
I love the connection you made between The Tale of Despereaux and Rylant's retelling of the Cinderella story. Both Rylant's writing and Blair's illustration add to the theme of light/dark and good/evil. Like you said, this is a tale we've grown up with, but I feel that Rylant and Blair do captivate their audience to feel for Cinderella - as opposed to other versions where the audience may get caught up in the magic of the Fairy Godmother, the pumpkins, mice, etc.
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