Once upon a time . . .

There was a singing Cinderella?

Yes, with a voice as flavorful as licorice.

There was also a Crooked Foster Mother and two evil sisters. A Queen Mother Rhythm and a Prince of Music.

And while there's no glass slipper to leave behind at the Great Gospel Convention, there is an enchanted melody for the Prince to search for . . . and to find.

Award-winning author and poet Joyce Carol Thomas and Caldecott Medal-winning artist David Diaz have infused the classic Cinderella tale with a soulful twist.

Joyce Carol Thomas is an internationally renowned author who received the National Book Award for her first novel, Marked By Fire, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for The Blacker the Berry and for her first picture book, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea. Her picture book I Have Heard of a Land received a Coretta Scott King Honor and an IRA/CBC Teachers' Choice Award and was an ALA Notable Book. Her other titles include The Gospel Cinderella, Crowning Glory, Gingerbread Days, and A Gathering of Flowers. Ms. Thomas lives in Berkeley, California.

David Diaz has illustrated numerous award-winning books for children, including smoky night by Eve Bunting, for which he was awarded the Caldecott Medal; The Wanderer by Sharon Creech, which received a Newbery Honor; and Me, Frida by Amy Novesky, a Pura Belpré Honor Award winner. Mr. Diaz lives in Southern California.