THE ROUGH-FACE GIRL

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Martin, Rafe. 1992. The Rough-Face Girl. Ill. by David Shannon. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 0399218599

2. PLOT SUMMARY
The Rough-Face Girl is one of the many Cinderella stories told throughout the world. This version is based on an Algonquin Indian folktale that has been passed down. The Cinderella in this story is the Rough-Face Girl, who’s two heard-hearted sisters are cruel to her and make her tend the fire, causing her to be scarred and ugly. The woman villagers all want to marry the Invisible Being and Rough-Face Girl’s sisters get dressed up and set out to his tent to convince his sister to let them marry him. After questioning the girls, the Invisible Being’s sister realizes that they have not seen him, therefore they cannot marry him. The next day Rough-Face Girl sets out to find the Invisible Beings sister to ask permission to marry him. His sister sees that Rough-Face Girl may not be beautiful on the outside, but she is on the inside and finds out that she has seen the Invisible Being. They make the girl beautiful on the outside and both Rough-Face Girl and the Invisible Being live happily ever after.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This story is a true story of good triumphing over evil, just as other Cinderella stories are. What makes this version different and special are the beautiful illustrations by David Shannon and easily understood writing by Rafe Martin. Shannon’s paintings depict a stereotypical Indian village and give clues as to what the Invisible Being looks like. Martin’s writing allows readers to fully understand the moral of the story and easily allows readers to see the connection to the modern day, Disney version that they have all come to know.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: "Another in the recent succession of Cinderella stories, The Rough-Face Girl begs for comparison with Princess Furball (Greenwillow, 1989), Tattercoats (Putnam, 1989), Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (Lothrop, 1987), Moss Gown (Clarion, 1987), etc., and will provide both entertainment and a cultural lesson."
BOOKLIST: "Given the beauty of the story, the strength of many of the illustrations, and the current interest in comparing variants of folktales from different cultures, libraries will find this a well-used picture book."

5. CONNECTIONS
Readers can talk about the similarities and differences between this and other Cinderella stories that they have heard and read.

Readers can study the Algonquin Indians to learn more about their culture.

Other Cinderella stories:
Climo, Shirley. The Egyptian Cinderella. ISBN 0064432793
Steptoe, John. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. ISBN 0688040454
San Souci, Robert. Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella. ISBN 0689848889
Jackson, Ellen. Cinder Edna. ISBN 0688162959