A fun retelling of Cinderella, focusing on Murray, the cobbler who made the glass shoes she wore to the ball. The illustrations are colorful and full of detail, and the story is told in rhyme, making it great for reading aloud. An amusing addition to any child's book collection.

Such a cute and new take on a classic story. Love that it has cadence. It is a little wordy on some pages, but the illustrations are eye-catching and fresh.

I love fractured fairytales and this one won't disappoint. Everyone is familiar with the classic tale of Cinderella I'm sure. It's always enjoyable to read a clever, fresh retell of a story that has an unpredictable plot twist.

The story is told through the eyes of Murray the local cobbler. How did he get involved? Well the panicky godmother's wand has run out of power. She finds herself in quite a pickle as she had enough power to create everything Cinderella needed for her makeover except her shoes. Oh my... she can't go to the ball barefooted now can she?

"Ah!" I said, smiling. "Is that all you ask?
I've got some in back! size five...made of glass."
That fairy was enchanted! She said she'd pay well
as soon as she recharged her magic and spells.

The next day, Mona, Murray's clerk rushes in so excited. She is convinced that she is destined to marry a prince and this will be her only chance to make her dream come true. Last night at the ball the prince fell in love and just as he was about to propose marriage his love took off and left her glass shoe behind. He is now looking everywhere for his beauty and he will claim the woman who fits that shoe for his bride. Poor Murray is caught off guard with her news because he loves Mona dearly and would love to marry her himself.

Mona persuades Murray to make her a glass slipper, size nine, so when the Prince comes looking for his bride-to-be ... it will be her. Poor Murray what is he to do? His heart is torn between his true love of Mona and wanting to make her happy and her dream come true. Can this story possibly become a " and they lived happily-ever-after" fairytale?

The text is written in perfect rhyme and decadently displayed on scrolls of parchment. The illustrations are whimsical, animated and full of emotion. The author brilliantly blends the old story and the new making it a very fun read indeed. Everyone loves a good plot twist and a happy ending. This sweet book delivers both. I love it and I highly recommend it.

Schiffer Kids and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of If the Shoe Fits. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

If the Shoe Fits is a charming retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale. This delightful story is well illustrated in an old world style and is from the perspective of the cobbler that makes the glass slippers. His influence and choices give the story a unique twist, giving the fairy tale new life. The rhythmic flow of the text provides a bit of humor and would be fun for parent or educators who are reading aloud to children.

There have been many average retellings of classic stories as of late, but If the Shoe Fits is a good example as to how an author can successfully marry together the old and the new stories through charming dialogue and a good plot twist. I highly recommend If the Shoe Fits for home, school, and public libraries and I look forward to reading more by author Deborah Guarino in the future.

One of my favorite fairy tales growing up was Cinderella, but even more than the original classic, I loved re-tellings. So when I saw this picture book and read the description I know I'd love it, and I was not disappointed.



Cinderella's fairy godmother is in a pinch, so she enlists local cobbler, Murray to help her. Murray's long-time crush, Mona, dreams of marrying a prince and convinces Murray to make her a show like the original, but in a size nine. Can true love conquer all?



Delightfully whimsical, the story is told in poetic verse and accompanied by enchantingly whimsical, but classic illustrations that compliment the tone of the story perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed this twist on the classic tale, perfect to share with young fairy tale lovers. A clever story filled with humor, whimsy, and heart.





I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is adorable! I love the illustrations and the storyline is unique and well told. The rhyming is clever and well done. It is a new take on a popular fairy tale with a wholesome twist. Would recommend and will be purchasing for each of my nieces!

I received an electronic ARC from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. through NetGalley.
A clever and fresh retelling of the Cinderella story. The Godmother needs help as she runs out of magic so she comes to the shoemaker and buys his glass slippers. The story twists on from there but comes right in the end for the shoemaker and his assistant. The Prince and Cinderella are secondary players. The rhyme scheme works as it flows from page to page. The language may be tricky for young readers at times but this will be a terrific family or class read.
The illustrations capture the character expressions and actions throughout.

I'm confused on if If The Shoe Fits is supposed to be a Children's picture book or a Middle-Grade book. It was illustrated and presented like a picture book but the wording was more of a MG novella. I wasn't a fan of this Cinderella retelling or the illustrations. :/

***Thank you to Netgalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for providing me with a review copy.***

Adorable! Fun twist on the classic Cinderella story. The illustration style was fun and lively. Managed to keep my one year old's attention during a thunderstorm.

I'm partial to a good fairy tale retelling, especially the Cinderella story, and this one certainly delivers. The full double-page illustrations are delightful, and adding the text to parchment scrolls on most of the pages is a nice touch. The fairy godmother, Murray, the shoemaker, and his clerk, Mona are beautifully and comically drawn. The story is a fresh and humorous take on the classic Cinderella story - a behind the scenes, so to speak, that creates a little mayhem in the kingdom. I enjoyed the rhyming tale and couldn't wait to find out how Murray and the Fairy Godmother were going to save the day. The story was funny, mostly because of the word choice (bunions to rhyme with onions . . . ingenious!).

"Just down the hill from the royal palace (the one with the moat and the towers and stuff), I own the shoe store the whole village uses; the pay's really bad and the hours are rough. I know everyone's fee, and their corns, and their bunions; I know everyone's favorite style in shoes. But I get paid in quail's eggs, and goat's milk, and onions, instead of hard cash, which I really could use!"

The level of vocabulary seems a little advanced for 4-8 year olds (e.g., counterfeit, entourage, contusion), but I think it's a great way challenge young readers and teach them critical vocabulary skills like context clues. I can't wait to get my copy!

Aww! A cute twist on the tale of Cinderella, this time from the shoemaker's perspective. I wasn't sure about the rhyming text at first, but once I got into the story I didn't notice it as much. There's a bunch of good vocabulary in here plus talking points about self-sacrifice, doing the right thing, etc. A good fairy tale for middle grades.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

I requested this book because it's a slightly different take on Cinderella. The description sounded cute, and my daughter and I love all things to do with fairy tales. We read it last night and it is absolutely adorable! The writing is great (all in rhyme- which makes for a good cadence and flow when reading aloud to a child) and the illustrations were beautiful. I would highly recommend this to any parent that wants a humorous different take on the Cinderella story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book to my daughter!

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this!

What a fun twist on Cinderella!
This version is through the eyes of a cobbler and his influence on the final outcome.
The illustrations are amazing and I enjoyed the easy flow of the verses.
Thank you NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for my DRC.

Cute retelling, told in rhyme, of Cinderella. Illustrations were on the better side, kids would likely enjoy them, I think. I liked the differences from the original and appreciated greatly the focus of this story.

I love to find books that offer a new take on an old, classic fairy tale. This is a fun re-imagining of the Cinderella story. My niece also loved the story and the rhyming helped her to re-read most of the story independently.

What is interesting about this fairy tale retelling is that the part that is retold is where Cinderella's shoes came from, which was, of all things, a shoe maker. And because the focus is on the shoemaker, we get to see what his hopes and dreams and desires are, and they are to marry his assistant.

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And the fairy godmother and prince and even Cinderella are all extra things that get in the way.

This is refreshing, and fun new take. Recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Thank you #netgalley for giving me a copy of #iftheshoefits to review. This is going to be a good addition to my Cinderella unit. I like finding different perspectives of the same story and this is a take that I hadn't heard before.

I thoroughly enjoyed this spin on the Cinderella tale. It’s interesting because Cinderella doesn’t even appear in this story. It is more about the shoe maker. He is commissioned by the fairy godmother to make a very special shoe, and he comes out with the glass slippers. Unfortunately he gets into quite a bit of trouble because of the slippers. Great story and great illustrations too!

This is a cute story, a twist on a typical Cinderella story. I am not sure the illustrations fit the wonderfully rhymed lines of the story though.