The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

Summary

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo is a story of a Greek girl who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in Egypt. Her name is Rhodopis. She did chores just like all of the other household servant girls but she was treated poorly because she didn't look Egyptian. She had green eyes and blond hair. Her master was old and slept often while they worked, so he never heard the other girls mistreat Rhodopis.  She made friends with the animals and she would dance when them when her chores were done. One day her master saw her dancing, he had never seen something so beautiful. He decided to buy something special for her, so he bought her a pair slippers that were gilded with rose-red gold. The other girls were jealous of Rhodopis because all they had on their feet were sandals made of papyrus. 

One day Rhodopis overheard the other girls talking about how they were going to sail for Memphis to see the Pharaoh because he was holding court for his subjects. Rhodopis wanted to go but she had chores to do. She had gotten her new shoes dirty and took them off to clean them when a falcon circled the sky above her. She said hello to him because falcons are the symbol of the god Horus. The falcon swooped down and stole one of Rhodopis' slippers. The falcon flew all the way to Memphis and waited until Amasis, the Pharaoh was starting to get bored and he dropped the slipper into his lap. Amasis had never seen such a beautiful slipper and he vowed to marry the woman this shoe belonged to. He traveled all over Egypt looking for the owner to the slipper he found. When he approached the other servant girls they knew immediately who it belonged to. They wanted to try it on anyway but their feet were too big. Amasis saw Rhodopis hiding in the reeds near the river and he called her forward. He had her try on the slipper and it fit her perfectly. He said there was none so fit to be a queen. The other girls were mad because she wasn't even Egyptian but the Pharaoh said "She is most Egyptian of all. For her eyes are as green as the Nile, her hair as feathery as papyrus, and her skin the pink of a lotus flower". And so, Amasis married Rhodopis and she became his queen.

Evaluation

The story of Rhodopis is one of the oldest Cinderella stories ever recorded. It was recorded by the Roman historian Strabo in the first century B.C. There was actually a Rhodopis who was born in Greece and kidnapped by pirates and made to be a slave in Egypt. She actually married the Pharaoh Amasis, but if there really was a golden slipper no one really knows. I enjoyed this story, it was so different from any other Cinderella I've read. The Pharaoh didn't even need to see Rhodopis to know he was going to marry her. This is such a different twist from most fairy tales. I think its great to teach children not to treat people badly and that it is possible to overcome adversity.  

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl by Virginia Hamilton

Summary

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl by Virginia Hamilton is about a rabbit who is always up to no good. In this story, Bruh Rabbit decides he doesn't want to do any work planting in the field, instead he sneaks out at night and steals crops from Bruh Wolf. Bruh Wolf tries all sorts of things to try and deter Bruh Rabbit from stealing his food, but to no avail. One day Bruh Wolf comes up with an idea to make a girl rabbit out of tar, this way when Bruh Rabbit sees it, he will try and get the attention of the girl rabbit and he will get stuck when he touches her. This is exactly what happened. Bruh Rabbit was stuck in the tar by his hands, his feet, and even his chin! Bruh Wolf comes along bragging that he finally caught Bruh Rabbit. He tells Bruh Rabbit that he ought to throw him into the briars. Bruh Rabbit begs him not to, so naturally, that's exactly what Bruh Wolf does. When Bruh Rabbit lands in the briar patch he yells back to Bruh Wolf that he has lived in the briars all his life, thank you. Briar Rabbit escaped to cause mischief again.

Evaluation

I really enjoyed reading this story. I know I say that about every book but it's true! I love the watercolor illustrations and the Gullah speech included in the story, even though sometimes it was a little hard to understand. There's an 'About This Book' section in the back that explains where this story came from and also the definitions for the Gullah words which made it much easier. I liked the story of Bruh Rabbit and I remember the Disney version from when I was a kid. The only thing I wondered was why Bruh Rabbit gets away in the end with no repercussion. After reading the 'About This Book' section I learned that during slave times, the slaves telling these stories,  identified with Bruh Rabbit because small and helpless compared to the other animals, just like they were. I could see after that why Bruh Rabbit got the best of Bruh Wolf, because that is what you need to do to survive.

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault

Summary

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault is a story about a boy whose father dies and he leaves his three sons his possessions, a mill, a donkey and a cat. The oldest son gets his mill, the second gets the donkey and the youngest gets the cat. The youngest is upset because his brothers will be able to make decent livings off of their inheritance but after he eats the car and uses its fur, there will be nothing left. The cat tells the boy that he will make it so that his life will turn out better than his brothers in the end. He then asks the boy for him to buy a pair of boots and a sack. Once puss in boots has his things, he sets out to make the boy noticed by the king. He tricks the king into thinking that the boy is the Marquis of Carabas. He brings him game from the Marquis to get his name out there. One day when the king is driving by, puss tells the boy to go swimming in the river and puss tells the king that the Marquis of Carabas is drowning. After being saved, puss spins more of his lies and the king ends up marrying his daughter off to the boy. So now, he and puss get to live in a castle and puss in boots' work is done.

Evaluation

I really enjoyed reading this story. I was somewhat familiar with the tale before reading it but now I have a greater understanding of it. I loved the illustrations done by Fred Marcellino, they are beautiful. I was expecting Puss to get caught in the end but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't and he was successful in his endeavor.