Rufferella - Hardcover

This breezy twist on Cinderella from a British team puts the wag in waggish. Fairy godmother wannabe Diamante "desperately wanted to turn something into something," and decides to turn her dog Ruff into a girl. No magic wand? No problem. There's a bit of Henry Higgins in young Diamante, who quickly transforms her pet with frilly clothes, a bow in her hair--er, ears--makeup and etiquette lessons. Ruff carries off the charade with aplomb, and her "amazingly sweet, low voice" soon catapults her into a singing career. Diamante laments that the glitz of celebrity leaves "no time for playing soccer or rolling around on the carpet, like they used to," but an invitation to meet the queen changes all that: when sausages are served, Ruff's true identity is revealed in a romp down the royal dinner table, and Diamante regains her much-missed pet. Gill-Brown tucks a message about the importance of being oneself into her delectable tale, spicing it with British slang ("telly," "fancy a trip to the park") and a heap of wit. Stanley makes the most of the delightfully improbable set-up with a series of sweetly droll watercolors that pirouette across pastel backdrops. In this paper-over-board volume, Ruff consistently steals the show, whether perched in the back of a limousine wearing sunglasses or seated under the hairdryer at a beauty salon, ears tweaked into a frothy curlicue and legs crossed daintily as she reads a magazine. Ages 4-10.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

reS-Gr 1-Diamante imagines that she's the fairy godmother in "Cinderella." She turns her dog into a girl, not so much by magic, but just with a bit of dress-up. It's easy to accept the pup's transformation initially, and the application of lipstick is especially fun, but when "Rufferella" becomes a public icon for her singing talent, the story enters the realm of the absurd. The canine quickly rises to fame from theater to TV, until she's invited to the Queen's ball. The truth is finally discovered when Rufferella jumps on the table to gobble up sausages, her favorite. In the end, as is often the case in wishful thinking, the characters happily revert to how things were. The watercolor illustrations keep this book light and fun. The interplay between Diamante and Rufferella is engaging. Although it is hard to see how others could be fooled into thinking Ruff is anything but a dog, she still looks appealing in her floor-length dresses. This is a book full of fluff and circumstance but very little substance. It is fetching and yet far-fetched.

Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.