The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella Story (PAWS IV) Paperback – Picture Book, March 9, 2004

In The Salmon Princess, Mindy Dwyer offers a delightful retelling of the classic Cinderella story, beautifully infused with the rich culture and landscape of Alaska. This engaging adaptation retains the familiar elements of the original fairy tale—an absent-minded father and a cruel stepmother—but transports the narrative to the breathtaking scenery of the Last Frontier.In this version, the fairy godmother is transformed into a mystical eagle spirit, and instead of a glass slipper, the iconic item becomes a fisherwoman's boot. Dwyer’s evocative writing captures the essence of Alaskan life, while the colorful artwork brings to life the stunning natural beauty of the region.The Salmon Princess not only entertains but also educates young readers about Alaskan traditions and the importance of nature, making it a wonderful choice for children and families. This charming rendition of a beloved tale invites readers to embrace the themes of hope and resilience in a uniquely Alaskan setting, ensuring it will be cherished for generations to come.

The media could not be loaded. This twist on the classic Cinderella story, transports readers to the Alaskan wilderness. Mindy Dwyer's story and illustrations work beautifully together to create a unique setting that breathes new energy into the familiar fairytale, and gives a glimpse of a fantasy life in Alaska.The main character is strong, resourceful, and hardworking. She tackles the challenges of fishing life alongside her father while longing to go to a festival, and planning a new life - with the help of a new friend and a touch of magic. (The "fairy godmother" element is replaced with an eagle in an Alaskan twist.)"The Salmon Princess" is a delightful read-aloud and will be one you read again and again. It's a lovely addition to a home library that loves fairy tales, princesses, nature, or stories with strong female characters.Buy: 9/10 - is a lovely addition to a home library, will be ready more than once, and will invite questions and lessons of Alaska, nature, and story telling/writing.Borrow: 10/10 - definitely borrow it if you can, and I imagine many will add it to their home library after.

Now here's a Cinderella for modern times! Hardworking, independent, full of initiative! Her father, mother, and she live at the edge of a rain forest in Alaska, where they catch, clean, and smoke salmon for their livelihood. It's a bloody job, but someone has to do it.One day the mother dies, the father is sad. Life goes on. He re-marries. The woman has two grown sons who help catch more salmon, leaving the cleaning job to Cinder, a beautiful red-haired lass with smoky eyes (thus Cinder). She is drowning in salmon!One day the Silver Salmon Festival is announced. Everyone is going except Cinder, who must clean salmon. She finishes early, the eagle makes her a dress out of salmon skins which magically becomes sublime in appearance, and tells her to be home by dawn. She is practical, takes smoked salmon to sell for raffle tickets, with her eyes on the prize of silver bars.She dances the night away with a young man, who turns out to be the son of the owner of the salmon canning factory, or "the Salmon Prince," as she calls him. As she leaves, her foot gets caught in a salmon net and she must leave her shoe--only it is the wading boot so common in Alaska!Prince Salmon finds her. They marry. She becomes the Salmon Princess of the book's title. They move to the interior of Alaska and buy a farm to raise great big cabbages, both happy to escape the smell of salmon!The story is a new twist on the old, a fun Cinderella story, but still based on hard work and mistreatment. This Cinderella, however, makes her own way. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous--vivid, vibrant, intense, much like the landscape of Alaska. Even Cinder is intense with that wild red hair.This is a wonderful addition to a child's or school library for the entertainment of the new story and information about one of our states.

This Cinderella had a stepmother who made her clean fish. An eagle helped her by delivering a shiny dress to go to the dance at the Silver Salmon Festival and win some money. It is the same story but a young man who turned out to be a prince and a boot instead of a glass slipper. A happy ending with the prince finding Cinder,giving her the prize money and taking her for a wife. Nice illustrations with the familiar theme.

I bought this for my library because it's a very special version of the Cinderella story and we have several others. The copy I bought was in excellent condition, perfect for the library. It's a great tool for teaching young children about other cultures.

We received this as a gift for our toddler. If I could return it I would. It talks about her mother dying in the book which is a heavy thing for a young reader. The illustrators are beautiful though.I would return it if I could. But we didn’t get a gift receipt.

Having lived in Southeast Alaska for two years, I found this book while living in Anchorage and was in awe! I mean, the girl wears ExtraTufs!! This is an absolute must children's book for kids living in southeast or maybe who have grandparents in southeast. Accurate representations of how things are there -- it's a wonderful little gem!

A book that is for any fishing princess and the colors on the pages jump out and join the story.