Ella Enchanted

by Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted delves deeply into the tale of Cinderella, explaining the familiar plot freshly while adding a beautiful portrayal of sacrificial love. The short chapter book can be easily read by an elementary student, but would make a fun read-aloud for younger children. Much of the story directly interests girls more than boys, though. Inappropriate content is restricted to mentions of 15-year-old Ella marrying a much older man and some mild violence of the sort that frequently occurs in fairy tales. The love story builds slowly, resting on mutual interests, honor, and integrity.

This telling may be more beneficial to children's character than the original, because the addition to the plot thoroughly explores free will as a concept. Ella is forced to obey any command due to a "gift" given to her at birth by a fairy. Nevertheless, she often finds ways of rebelling while following the letter of commands. While this attitude is not specifically denounced, the book frequently discusses the value of obedience for love's sake, or at least obedience that is chosen. At the same time, because of her "curse," Ella sees how both virtuous and wicked people use the power they possess. A younger child will witness in this book the value of choosing obedience, and choosing an appropriate attitude for obedience; but an older child may begin to explore spiritual ideas of free will, seeing the beauty of God in His decision to grant free will to man.

In analyzing other books, I have criticized those books which demonstrate man as his own savior. Although Ella ultimately does release herself from her curse, this book does not espouse humanism to the same extent. First, Ella herself frequently seeks help from others, most particularly her fairy godmother and the original "generous" trouble-making fairy. She must often work together with others to do good or accomplish goals. Second, like all the other humans and creatures in the tale, Ella has strengths and weaknesses (though not many of the wicked characters have definable strengths). Finally, the story more clearly displays the beautiful truths of free will than other humanist works. Although the author does not acknowledge God, the reader is given ample opportunity to rejoice in His works.