Adelita a Mexican Cinderella

Tomi dePaola retells the story of Adelitathe Mexican Cinderella using his distinctive illustrations and adding Spanish words to give the reader a more cultural feel for the story.

This version shares many of the characteristics most children associate with Cinderella, but there is no footwear in this version. Cinderella's mother dies in childbirth. As she reaches her young adult years, her father remarries a woman with two daughters. I always find it interesting how the widow always seems to have one or two daughters, never three. In this version, she has a beloved servant that has been with the family since her birth. As her stepmother forces her to become a servant, she sends Esperanza away. Even when the woman offers to work for no wages, the stepmother senses she could cause trouble and forces her to leave.

When Dona Micaela discovers the Gordillo's will be hosting a party for all the local families and it is expected their son Javier will be seeking a bride, we have our required Cinderella ball. In this tale, Adelita is banned from attending. The stepmother is taking no chances in setting impossible tasks that might be achieved. When the family leaves, Esperanza arrives and uses the hidden key for Adelita's mother's trunk to provide her with a dress and a beautiful red shawl. Esperanza drives Adelita to the ball in a cart and she has a wonderful evening. In this version, she and Javier knew each other as children. She is afraid to tell him the truth about her circumstances and flees to Esperanza leaving nothing behind. Her prince sets off in search of her.

She puts the shawl out the window to attract him to the house and then dresses in the outfit she wore to the dance. When he arrives, the other daughters try to attract his attention. When she arrives dressed as before, he only has eyes for her. The family is invited to the wedding, but only Esperanza is invited to live with them.

The Rough Faced Girl

The Rough-Face Girlis an Algonquin Native American Cinderella Story.

The Rough Faced Girl is very similar and based on the same traditional tales as the Ojibwa tale, SootfaceI reviewed earlier.

This story takes place near Lake Ontario. The prince in this version is also an invisible warrior who will only marry the woman who can see him. A poor man in the village has three daughters. The youngest has become scarred from tending the fires and they cruelly taunt her calling her the roughed faced girl. The two oldest sisters demand their father make them presentable so they can take the sister's test to marry her invisible brother. He does so and both fail, as they are unable to see the warrior.

The Rough Faced Girl approaches her father for help in taking the test, but he has little left to offer after his older two have cleaned him out. She takes what he offers and heads off with a birch dress to meet the invisible warrior. The villagers are cruel, but beyond the village, she encounters great beauty. She is able to pass the sister's tests and is welcomed into the family. As with Sootface, she gains a sister along with a husband.

The Gift of the Crocodile a Cinderella Story

The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Storyis set in the Spice Islands in Indonesia and has details those familiar with multicultural Cinderella stories will recognize and a few new ones to keep readers interested.

Damura starts the story with a mother who dies leaving her with a respect for nature and kindness for its creatures. Her father draws the attention of a widow with a daughter of her own. This version has a unique warning about temptation. The widow offers Damura a beautiful doll if she tells her father he should marry the widow. The father resists, but the child wants the doll and insists. Thus begins the traditional Cinderella tale. The widow starts slowly. She and the daughter are kind at first. As they grow more comfortable with their power, she quickly becomes the family servant.

One day while doing laundry at the river she loses her sarong and is afraid to return home without it. In her distress, she remembers her mother's counsel and calls out to the creatures of the wild to help her. An ancient crocodile rises up and the girl greets her without fear as Grandmother. Since she greeted her politely, the crocodile does not eat her but inquires about her problems. The crocodile offers to retrieve the sarong if the girl holds her baby. The girl rocks the baby, singing it a lullaby and refrains from calling it a name despite the smell. The crocodile returns with a beautiful sarong and tells the girl to return if she needs anything.

The stepmother refuses to allow her to keep the sarong and forces her to tell her how she got the sarong. The next morning, her daughter throws a rag into the river crying that she has also lost her sarong. While she remembers her stepsisters warning to be polite, she cannot tolerate the baby crocodile’s behavior spanks it and is sings a cruel song to it. The Grandmother Crocodile appears with a silver sarong that the girl tries to grab from her. Since her behavior to the baby was bad, it turns into a filthy leach covered rag she cannot remove.

When a Prince comes to the village to choose a bride the stepmother steals Damura's silver sarong for her daughter to wear. Damura goes back to Grandmother Crocodile who provides her with a gold outfit and the traditional warning to return before the rooster crows. There always seems to be a curfew. Grandmother Crocodile adds an additional requirement. Damura must return everything she wore. She heads off into the carriage and mindful of the crocodile's warning, she heads out as soon as she hears the crowing. The prince grabs a slipper and Damura is concerned she may have offended the kindly reptile. When she returns, Grandmother Crocodile informs her that losing the slipper will make her a princess. Damura shows up in rags to try on the slipper and of course, it fits. She returns to Grandma Crocodile to get her golden clothes to appear before him appropriately attired.

Her stepmother and sister are not pleased and decide to get rid Damura so her sister can have the prince. They take her out on a boat and dump her into a river where she is eaten by a crocodile. Instead of accepting a substitute bride, the prince is devastated and pleads with Grandmother Crocodile for help. She summons her children and demands that the one who has swallowed Dumura spit her up. Grandmother Crocodile wakes her up by licking her and warns her children that none of them must eat Damura, the Prince or any of their children. However, she does tell them it’s open season on the stepmother and daughter.

Moss Gown

Moss Gowndraws on tales the author heard growing up in North Carolina. The story is based on another version of Cinderella known as Rush Cape. However, it is also similar to the Jewish version I reviewed called The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Traditionin that it provides the same family basis for Moss Gown's banishment from the family and meeting with her prince.

Moss Gown's father is a wealthy southern plantation owner. He has three daughters and as he is determining how to divide his property, he asks them how much they love him. He is insulted when Candace, the youngest, tells him she loves him the way meat loves salt. In anger he disinherits her and her sisters throw her out of the house during a hurricane. During the storm, she meets an African American woman who she believes to be a witch. The woman gives her a moss gown, which appears beautiful when the woman gives it to her, but soon returns to its moss state. The woman tells her she will return when summoned with the appropriate words and leaves the girl to travel through the swamp.

At the end of the swamp, she finds a house and the Mistress of the house is kind enough to provide her with employment, sending her to the kitchens to work. She is very distressed over the situation with her father and does not see how she is to be reconciled with him. However, she does take interest when she finds out there is to be a three-day celebration and those with a ball gown may attend. Moss Gown remembers the words of the woman she met in the swamp and summons her to help her prepare. She is warned the magic will only last until the Morning Star begins to fade. She escapes each night and when the balls are over the Master's son is devastated that he cannot find the girl of his dreams. The servants are all worried he is wasting away as he refuses to eat. Moss Gown dons her dress again and summons the woman who changes the dress again. She brings food to him and even when the dress returns to rags he pledges his love and they are married.

The father's story is resolved when we discover his daughters have spent the estate into bankruptcy leaving the father begging in the streets. Moss Gown finds her father and has pity on him. She has the servants bring him in and orders the cook to make a dinner with no salt. When her father tastes the meal, she reveals who she is and her father finally understands the comment she made about the depth of her love for him. Her husband invites him to stay and the family is reunited.

Sootface An Ojibwa Cinderella Tale

Sootfaceis another Native American Cinderella Tale.

In this version, Sootface is not a stepchild, but lives with her father and her two sisters. Her father is typical of many Cinderella fathers neglectful, but not directly involved with the abuse. Her sisters are mean and lazy leaving her with all the chores and refusing her any comforts.

The Prince in this tale is a mighty warrior who has been blessed with the ability to make himself invisible. When he decides to marry, he tells his sister that he will marry the woman who can see him. Predictably, all the available women in the village, including Sootface's sister fail the test. Sootface wants to try, but her sister's refuse to help her prepare. She is mocked by the village for the outfit she makes from birch and the flowers she wears to visit the warrior's sister.

On arriving at the tent, she asks the sister who the handsome man is and is provided with the same test questions as the previous contestants. She answers correctly and is rewarded with not only a husband, but also a kind sister. She helps her to clean up and provides her with clothing and appropriate adornments so she can be married.

Ashpet An Appalachian Cinderella Tale

Ashpet: An Appalachian Taleis one of the more assertive Cinderella's I have reviewed recently.

Hired out as a serving girl to a widow with two selfish daughters, Ashpet follows the path of most Cinderella's. She works hard, yet is denied basic pleasures like attending a Church meeting. On the night before the meeting Ashpet it up preparing for the family to attend the service and the fire goes out. She is unable to visit a neighbor to get a starter fire. It is unclear why they cannot start their own. The widow’s daughters must visit Granny, a neighbor to bring fire home.

Granny expects her neighbors to be respectful and polite and when the girls are rude and refuse to help her, she refuses them fire. Even though Ashpet is needed for other chores, the Widow Hooper sends her to fetch the fire.

She politely asks for the fire and agrees to brush the old woman's hair in return for the fire. With the fire built, the Widow Hooper's family prepares for the service, leaving Ashpet home to tend to her chores. After the family leaves, Granny arrives at the door and with the tapping of her cane, the house is cleaned and Ashpet finds herself with a new dress and matching shoes.

With a warning from Granny to arrive home before midnight, Ashpet heads off to Church where she catches the eye of the Doctor's son. When she realizes it is getting late, she distracts the son, by leaving one of her red shoes and asking him to help her find it. As he sets off to find her shoe, she takes off for home, setting up the traditional Cinderella tale. This time it is intentional.

As with many Cinderella tales, the doctor's son does come looking for the girl with the shoe. The Widow tries to hide her, but a helpful bird makes sure that the couple is reunited.

Angkat The Cambodian Cinderella

Angkat: The Cambodian Cinderellais the first Cinderella tale I have read with an evil father. In most Cinderella tales, the father is dead or neglectful of the child once married. However, this is the first time I have seen a tale where the father participates in harming the Cinderella character.

Angkat is the daughter of a fisherman and as with most Cinderella tales he marries a widow who has a daughter. His wife wants her daughter to be first daughter so she devises a fishing contest. Her daughter Kantok cheats and leaves Angkat in the traditional Cinderella servant role. When Angkat realized her stepsister had cheated and she would lose because her sister only left her one small fish, Angkat released the fish back into the pond. This act begins a relationship between girl and fish. She shares her rice ration with the fish each day. Unable to allow her stepsister even a small bit of enjoyment, Kantok decides to capture the fish. Angkat is devastated at the fate of her fish and the Spirit of Virtue appears before her to ask her about her troubles.

He tells her to place the fish bones under her sleeping mat and in the morning, a surprise will await her. She does as requested and finds golden slippers where the bones were in the morning. The girl follows the Sprits advice to leave one slipper under her mat and one by the open window. If you have read enough Cinderella tales, you can guess the fate of the shoe by the window. A bird takes the slipper to the Crown Prince who of course wants to marry the girl who owns it.

Angkat's stepmother provides the standard impossible task to prevent her from getting to try on the slipper. She scatters rice across the field telling the girl she can attend when every piece has been found. With assistance from the chickens, she is able to home, change, and pick up the other golden slipper.

Marriage was not the end Angkat's problems. In this version, even her father is filled with envy. He writes to her husband that he is gravely ill and must see his daughter. When she arrives home, they begin treating her like a servant, ordering her to cook soup for her father. As she is working, the three work together and kill her with the cauldron.

After her death, the story gets a little more confusing. The stepmother attempts to install Kantok in the palace. When the parents return home, they find banana plant growing where they killed their daughter. The father hacks down the plant carrying into the forest. There it grows into a bamboo forest. During a hunting trip, the Prince encounters the bamboo and feeling comfort from it has it cut down and brought back to the palace. Eventually sensing his wife's presence, he begs the Spirit of Virtue to return his wife to him. While not immediately clear, based on the fact the author states the Prince and Angkat are crowned King and Queen; one is led to believe his request is granted.

Smokey Mountain Rose An Appalachian Cinderella

Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella (Picture Puffins)is a retelling of Perrault's Cinderella set in Appalachian Mountains.

As this is a retelling of Perrault's tale, the author focuses on changing the setting and the details to fit the culture he has placed the story in so it will fit the format he has selected. Rose lives with her father a trapper in the Smokey Mountains. He decides to marry and brings home a widow with two daughters who are both mean and lazy. The situation only worsens for Rose when her father dies leaving her to their mercy.

In the tradition of the Cinderella ball, a wealthy neighbor decides it is time to find a wife and hosts a fancy party to meet the eligible ladies in the neighborhood. Her sisters are sure they will attract the gentleman's attention and laugh when Rose asks if she too might attend.

Rose finds assistance from a magical hog that provides her with appropriate clothing and transportation and a warning about leaving before midnight. As expected, Rose loses a glass slipper. Seb then uses the slipper to locate and marry Rose.

Anklet for a Princess A Cinderella Story from India

While much older than the Grimm's version, Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from Indiawill be recognizable to those familiar that version.

In this tale, Cinduri's father had two wives. When her mother and father die, she is left in the care of her stepmother who of course also has a daughter. As is the format of most Cinderella tales, she is forced to take on all the work while her stepmother and sister make her life miserable.

While fetching water Cinduri encounters a large white snake with a red jewel on its head. He seems very distressed to find a beautiful girl dressed in rags and hungry. He waves his head and a plate of wonderful food on a golden plate is provided to the hungry girl. After she eats, the snake offers to become her Godfather and continue to help her. He teaches her a song that will summon him when he is needed.

The snake continues to feed the girl and her stepmother discovers her secret just as Cinduri rushes in to tell them that the Crown Prince will be arriving for the ninth night of the Navaratri Festival. As is traditional with Cinderella stories, Cinduri is forbidden to go. Godfather snake comes through with appropriate attire and the traditional warning to be home before midnight.

At the Festival, she meets her Prince and loses her anklet as she flees at midnight. When the Prince comes to try the anklet on, her stepmother tries to prevent her from having a chance to meet the Prince by providing her with endless chores. She uses the magic left over from her Godfather Snake and finishes the chores in record time. She marries the Prince and brings Godfather Snake to the Palace to watch over her new family.

The Korean Cinderella

The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books (Paperback))is another Cinderella tale retold by Shirley Climo. Those familiar with the traditional Grimm's tale will find much they recognize in the Korean version.

In this tale, Pear Blossom has a happy life with her parents until the death of her mother. In his distressed state, her father goes to a matchmaker to find a mother for his daughter. She matches him with a widow who has a daughter about the same age as his own. From here, the story becomes very familiar to those who know the Cinderella tale. Only the cultural details of her life with her stepmother differ. Her stepmother works her hard and her distraught father provides little support. Her stepmother constantly threatens to send her off if her work is not completed.

As the tasks get more impossible, Pear Blossom encounters a tokgabi, or goblin that appears in the form of animals that help her as each task grows more difficult. A frog closes the hole in a water jug that will not hold water. Sparrows help her to hull a huge sack of rice her stepmother scatters in the courtyard. Finally, an ox helps her weed the rice paddies so she may attend the festival, providing her with suitable food for the celebration. Along the road, she is startled by the local magistrate and loses her sandal. Fearing she is in trouble, she runs away and sits alone at the festival enjoying her food and all the sites. As she is finishing her food, her stepmother spots her. Pear Blossom attempts to explain how finished her task, but her explanation only angers her stepmother. The stepmother is stopped in the middle of her tirade when the magistrate's servants announce they are looking for the owner of the sandal the magistrate found.

Her stepsister convinced Pear Blossom was about to be arrested quickly points the servants to her sister. Instead of being arrested, the magistrate of course wants to marry the mysterious girl who ran away.

The Orphan A Cinderella Story from Greece

The Orphan: A Cinderella Story from Greeceis based on the traditional Greek Cinderella tale of the Orphan. In the authors' notes, they state their orphan is a little less traditional and opts not to wait at home for the prince to come to her.

One interesting point to note, the orphan title does not imply this Cinderella has lost her father, only her mother, which is something unique to this version. While some versions have Cinderella's father die, most do not see her as an orphan as long as her father remains living.

In this version, the Cinderella character is given no other name than the orphan. When life becomes unbearable, she flees to her Mother's grave, where she is given advice from her Mother and special gifts from Mother Nature and her children that she will need if she is to capture her Prince.

As is common in Cinderella stories, the orphan is left behind when the family departs. In this case, she is not allowed to go with the family to attend Church to meet the Prince. The orphan arrives using her magical gifts and with her Mother's warning in mind escapes before the end of the service. The Prince of course is frustrated and decides to find a way to capture the elusive girl. He orders the floor covered with honey and wax across the threshold of the Church. This of course provides the Prince with the missing shoe that so many Cinderella stories require. As expected, the orphan and the Prince are reunited when the shoe fits.

This is another Cinderella tale with no balls or fancy outings. The Prince in this tale appears at Church.

Abadeha The Philippine Cinderella

Abadeha: The Philippine Cinderellais based on a story from pre-colonial Philippine tradition.

In this version Abadeha, calls on a native spirit, Mother Bathala, Creator of the Earth when she is unable to meet the challenges of her cruel and demanding stepmother and help is provided.

She does share the challenging family life presented in many of the Cinderella tales. Her father, devastated at the loss of her mother remarries providing Abadeha with a stepmother and stepsisters. The stepmother not only works her hard, but also provides her with impossible tasks, like changing the colors of hankies without dye or fixing a mat that has been destroyed beyond repair. Each time she prays, she is provided with assistance.


When a beloved pet that the forest spirit provides her with is killed, she is advised to bury the remains at her mother's grave. A tree grows up that provides her with beautiful jewels. There is a somewhat similar Grimm's version of the father bringing a branch that grows into a tree that showers Cinderella with gowns and outfits for her to wear to several of the balls.

The prince in this tale is the son of an island chieftain. He leaves an offering at the tree and tries on one of the rings. The ring will not come off and makes his finger swell. A dream reveals that there is a beautiful girl will release his finger from pain. No shoe or anklet in this story, but the Prince does find his Cinderella and all is well.

The Persian Cinderella

Sherry Climo has published several multicultural versions of the Cinderella tale. In The Persian Cinderella, she takes on the challenge of a tale from the Arabian nights located in Ancient Persia, today's Iran.

The Persian Cinderella has some unique features that those only familiar with the Grimm's tale may not recognize. In keeping with the cultural traditions, there is no ball and the prince does not go looking for his princess, his mother seeks out the girl who lost, not a shoe, but a diamond anklet.

This version does have some of the classic Cinderella elements. Settareh, the Persian Cinderella, does have a mean stepmother and cruel stepsisters who treat her badly. This version differs in that the father provides all the daughters with the money to attend the No Ruz, or New Year's festival. Settareh finds herself drawn into helping others and one rather odd purchase that seem to provide little opportunity to advance her chances of getting away from her family. The old woman she helps promises her that good will come from her generosity. One of her purchases ends up having a fairy in it that grants her wishes first for basic needs and then of course for a chance to attend the festival.

In keeping with the cultural traditions, this Cinderella never dances with the Prince, but she does commit a social mistake when she catches the eye of a man on the way into the festival. Of course, the reader knows that must be the Prince.

In this version, there is no shoe to fit the escaping Cinderella, but the clever mother of the groom does find Settareh and the future bride is able to provide the matching anklet. Unlike many Cinderella stories, the sisters are not thwarted at the shoe/anklet matching. These sisters are more devious and continue to pursue a means of catching the prince for their own marital prize. They steal her magic jar and ask for a means of getting rid of her forever. They are provided with a set of hairpins. As they prepare their sister's hair for her wedding, they stick the pins in her head. As the last pin is in place, their sister disappears and a dove sits in her place. I have not encountered a Cinderella tale with this twist before.

Much to the sisters’ disgust, the Prince does not turn to them for comfort, but in his distress over his lost bride, he comforts himself by taming the dove. When the bird eventually allows him to touch its head, he discovers pins stuck in its head. When he removes the last one, his bride appears. At that point, the reader is given the expected happy wedding ceremony. The jealous sisters explode and are no longer a problem for the couple.