Cinderella: My Perfect Wedding

Cinderella: My Perfect Wedding is a sweet happy-ever-after story for 5 year olds about a bride who'd really rather keep things small.

What happens

The glass slipper fitted, and now Cinderella and the Prince are getting married. There's just one problem. Cinderella hasn't the faintest idea how to plan a wedding.

Prudence runs the castle for the King, and she's very happy to take charge. She wants the grandest wedding the kingdom has ever seen. Cinderella would quite like something simple. The first dress she tries on is so covered in bows that she's worried the guests will mistake her for a present!

Then a bee flies out of an enormous bouquet and stings Prudence, and she's sent to bed for the day. So Cinderella wishes for her Fairy Godmother, and there she is. The trouble is, the Fairy Godmother gets a little bit carried away too. Thousands of invitations! A cake that's far too big! And it turns out the wedding is tomorrow.

The mice are the heroes here. Jaq and Gus chatter away in their funny voices ("Cinderelly!"), and while nobody's looking the mice quietly sew her a veil. It's lovely that the smallest friends are the ones who understand her best. There's a close shave with Pom-Pom the castle cat too.

What's nice underneath is the message. Cinderella finds a kind way to say what she really wants, even when the people helping her mean well. That's a useful thing for any little one to see.

It's a short, gentle read with lots of chatter, and it's perfect for sharing at bedtime. Your reader might enjoy shouting "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" at the right moment.

For a princess fan who always wants to know what happened after the ball, this one's a treat.

What to read next

For another princess who's missing her friends, Sleeping Beauty: Aurora's Slumber Party has Aurora showing three fairies how to have fun without any magic.