Review Detail

SANTARELLA is a delightful rhyming story about helping others and seeing the world. When Cinderella is left behind by her stepsisters the night of the ball with the prince, she finds Santa struggling to carry the large bag of toys. She decides to travel along with him and help, finding that she loves seeing the world. When he brings her back to the ball just before midnight, Cinderella realizes she would rather keep exploring than be with the prince, and she sets out to travel during the year before helping Santa again at the next Christmas.

What I loved: This story is an absolute delight, and I loved the rhyming text and uplifting story. This is a new twist on Cinderella that celebrates her finding her independence - without the prince. The Christmas touch with Santa and travel was lots of fun and made it quite the seasonal read. Rhyming text and lush illustrations add to the fun of the story and bring it to life when read aloud. The lyrical phrasing rolls off the tongue smoothly and makes the story feel fast-paced. This will appeal to preschoolers and young elementary school readers who have some familiarity with Cinderella but will appreciate the new twist on her story.

The font is easy to read throughout, and the pages turn fairly quickly. Detailed and colorful illustrations bring the story to life. This will work well as a non-religious holiday read with some humor and great messaging around independence and helping others.

Final verdict: SANTARELLA is a delightful picture book that will capture young readers' imaginations with colorful images and rhyming text. Highly recommend for a new fairytale holiday twist!