I don’t know how many of you are aware of what a Hi-Lo book is, but as an educator that specializes in reading, I have to admit that I’m rather fond of them. Not everyone learns to read well at the same ages and, for some kids, it takes quite a bit longer. Since my primary job is teaching children, and sometimes even adults, to read I’ve seen and helped people from the age of 4 to the age of 20 or older. And the thing fact remains that a teenager, of which I’ve seen a lot, is not going to be infinitely interested in reading a book at the level they are capable of reading from at a point in time that is written for a person much younger than they are. And this is where the Hi-Lo books really mean a lot to me. The books are written to be easily accessible to those with reading difficulties at older ages, telling stories that someone of their age would be interested in. And that is where Cinders comes in.
A Cinderella retelling for teenagers who have struggled to read, this book genuinely makes me incredibly happy. And the unfortunate truth of the world is that I, and the company I work for, cannot reach every single person out there who struggles with reading in order to improve their life. We can improve the literacy skills of countless children, teenagers, and adults but there will always be some we don’t reach. And in that mindset, it makes me infinitely glad to see that there are other opportunities for kids out there to be introduced to books that will help foster success and confidence with reading. If you’ve not seen the Hi-Lo books before, I would definitely suggest checking them out. Another thing I really appreciated about this book is the fact that it also supports diversity by having main LGBTQ characters, especially as is incredibly important for teenagers who do identify as such to be able to see themselves in the characters they read about.
For now, if this seems like a book you might be interested in learning more about or reading, feel free to check out my review for it and then later visit the Goodreads page and see about adding it to your TBR. Happy reading, everyone!
Reader Fox 