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gracegreenlaw's review
5.0
A retelling of the Egyptian Cinderella story. This story exists in many cultures and has the Egyptian version existed long before the first European version was first published in 1634. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the versions and how subsequent publications have been adapted and changed to suit the intended reader.
k_adams's review
adventurous
slow-paced
4.75
Cinderella of the Nile by Beverley Naidoo; illustrated by Marjan Vafaeian
Published in 2019
6-8 years old
With a traditional spin on Cinderella, this fairytale is placed in Africa. Cinderella is actually named Rhodopis and taken as a slave to Egypt. She is taken away from her family to do light work chores, but is still found unhappy by her master. Her master sells her to another master with three sister servants who were mean. The master gave Rhodopis red with gold laced shoes to wear because he found her dancing and playing in the stream. The day of the prince’s party, Rhodopis was found by the river, and a Falcon took her shoe and dropped it in the princes’ hand. The prince ordered that the owner be found, Rhodopis, who was found and married the prince.
I would recommend this in the classroom so that the students can get exposed to a different culture and story of Cinderella instead of the traditional story we see. Students can learn about the past and get and idea of how slavery worked, without getting to detailed and descriptive. The challenge with this is if it is in a younger classroom and parents may not want students to know the touchy subject of slavery, even if it does only get the idea across.
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