Top 3 Non-Cinderella Slipper Stories (Lizzie)

Cinderella is a great story, but ... my feet are way too long for those slippers, so let's talk about non-Cinderella slipper stories. After all, girls love their shoes.


Here are three of my favorite non-Cinderella (and non-Wizard of Oz) slipper stories.

1. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

A fun story with a young woman who'd rather be a seamstress than marry the heroic knight her aunt arranges to save her from a dragon. Fortunately for Creel and the knight, the dragon isn't in the mood to fight, and she is able to bargain the dragon's way out of the fight and her way out of a begrudging marriage proposal from the chivalrous knight. She gains a pair of leather slippers from the dragon's hoard and goes off to the royal city to find a job as a seamstress. But then something even more surprising than bargaining with a dragon happens--a dragon comes to her aid when bandits threaten her. Because of the slippers. Though the slippers give her influence over dragons, this dragon chooses to befriend her, and together they discover the secret of the slippers and how they might be the key to saving the kingdom in the approaching, seemingly hopeless, war.

This was a delightful, clever story with lovable characters. As a crafter (I do counted cross-stitch and crochet, and I plan to improve my sewing skills someday), I also enjoyed Creel's time as a seamstress and reading about the dresses and embroidery.

2. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

What better, or more unique way, for the heroine to save her prince's life than by hitting the villain with her slipper?

Anyone have an extra ticket (and a plane ticket) to the English National Ballet
production of The Nutcracker? I'm pretty sure I could clear my schedule to go with you.

With beautiful music, awe-inspiring scenery, and a delightful story, you can't help but love a good ballet production of E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. When I was growing up, we watched a taped version of a fantastic production of the ballet every Christmas. A few years ago I saw a live production in my town. It wasn't nearly as impressive (nor was the budget as big), and the scene with Mother Hubbard and the children under her skirts was a complete shock, as it wasn't in the version I was familiar with. So if you've never been impressed with The Nutcracker, you may just have not seen the right version.

Note: Eek! Just found out Disney is doing a Nutcracker movie called The Nutcracker and the Four Realms with an all-star cast including Keira Knightly, Morgan Freeman, and Matthew MacFayden! This is doubly exciting because I just wrote a Nutcracker-based short story for an anthology. Disney and I are thinking alike!

3. The Ballet Slippers

A young girl, Sylvia, and her nurse, Nana, go to live her eccentric explorer uncle (played by Harry Potter's uncle, proving he can be a nice uncle after all) in his museum-like house in London. He spends most of his time traveling and always brings Sylvia gifts when he returns, including three orphan girls: Pauline, Petrova, and Posy. Years later, he leaves and doesn't come back. When their money runs out, the ladies are forced to sell most of Great-Uncle Matthew's artifacts and take in boarders. The story follows their adventures with the boarders and in trying to prepare themselves to earn a living (not that easy in 1930s England) and develop their passions: acting, ballet, and building/flying planes.

An engaging story with lovable characters and an unpredictable plot. I rooted for the girls (though sometimes selfish) and the selfless Sylvia and Nana as they struggle to save the house and look after each other.

What do you think of these? Do you have any more?