In Greece, if a child loses his/her mother, they are considered an orphan, which had happened to the girl in this story. When her father remarried to a evil stepmother, she was so poorly treated that the stepmother counted every drop of water the orphan drank. Instead of a fairy godmother, Mother Nature and her children appeared and gave her gifts such as three beautiful dresses and a pair of blue shoes. Furthermore, instead of a castle, the orphan and the prince meets at the village church. In order to catch the orphan, he spreads a mixture of honey and wax across the church's threshold. This makes her shoe stuck but is able to run away from the guards by tossing coins into the crowd. In the end, the prince matches the shoe with the orphan's foot and they get happily married.
Opinion/Critique
I enjoyed reading a different version of Cinderella. One thing I really found intriguing was how Greek culture could be observed throughout the story. For example, how Mother Nature replaced the fairy godmother or how the setting was the village church instead of a castle. It kind of allows you to have a better sense of what Greek culture or values are.
Classroom application
This book can introduce a different version of the famous Cinderella story. However, it adds a twist because some details are changed. I think students can do a compare/contrast activity and include other versions of the Cinderella story. |
| Manna, A. L., Mitakidou, C., & Potter, G. (2011). The orphan: A Cinderella story from Greece (1st ed.). New York: Schwartz & Wade. |
Genre: Fiction, Picture, Fantasy, Folklore
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