#521 of 1001 · January 3, 2022

Good endures and evil meets its comeuppance in The Stepsister by Naomi Lewis and Allison Reed. Rose, a kind young woman, lives with her stepmother and with her stepsister, who coincidentally is also named Rose. However, the stepsister’s rudeness to the community earns her the nickname “Rose-Grumpety”. When Rose by chance meets and marries a handsome prince, Rose-Grumpety and the stepmother hatch a wicked plan to spoil her newfound happiness. But, no matter how many times they attempt to destroy her, Rose returns—as a bird, as a tree, as a carven lute. With the help of Rose’s talking cat Bonamy, the prince succeeds in restoring the girl to her own form once again. Lewis imbues her writing with clarity and warmth; Reed’s quietly atmospheric art bears an etched, tactile quality. A note for folklore enthusiasts: the front jacket flap identifies the story as an adaptation of an ancient Chinese folktale. Though Lewis cites no specific source, the general plot is recognizably indebted to the Beauty and Pock Face, a Chinese story combining motifs of the Persecuted Heroine (Cinderella) and the Kind and the Unkind Girls. Unusually, the back jacket flap credits Reed, the artist (rather than Lewis, the author), as the discoverer of the tale. #cat #prince #well #bird #tree #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks