Three Traditional Literatures

The Gospel Cinderella by Joyce Carol Thomas:

This is a story about a young girl who gets separated from her mother, Mother Rhythm, during a hurricane.  After the hurricane, Crooked Foster Mother finds her in a basket and takes her home to her two daughters and decided to name her Cinderella.  When she took her home, her intentions were to make her a kitchen hand, instead of adopting her as a daughter. Queen Mother Rhythm, who was the head of the gospel choir, decided one day that she wanted to retire, so she had to find the true daughter of Rhythm to take her place.  Holding a Gospel Convention, people came from all over the place to sing from Queen Mother Rhythm.  None of the singers had the right voice until Cinderella stood up.  Queen Mother Rhythm had finally found her long lost daughter. 

Cinderella by David Delamare:

This story is set in a Venetian setting with a young girl who is living a happy life with her parents.  Her father’s job requires him to travel around the world so she does not see him that often, but her and her mother live happily together.  One day her mother grows ill and passes away.  Because her father is unable to take care of her due to his traveling he puts her in a boarding school.  Two years pass and she gets a notice that her father has remarried and she is to return home to her new family.  Since her father is still not living with them, she quickly realizes that she has been brought home to be the maid.  One day she gets a notice about the 21^st birthday party for the Duke’s son.  The rest of this story is the traditional Cinderella story, and they live happily ever after. 

Cinderella by Paul Galdone:

This story starts off as the very traditional Cinderella story.  The first deviation that I found was after the first night of going to the King’s son’s ball, she was invited beck for a second time.  This was the instance where she left in a hurry and left behind her glass slipper.  Also, after the King’s servant has fit the glass slipper onto her foot, her step sisters fall at her feet and beg for forgiveness for treating her so poorly.  After Cinderella and the prince have married and live in the palace together, she brings her two stepsisters to live with them in the palace and soon finds them great Lords of the court to marry.

Use in classroom:

  All three of these books are so very different.  I think as a small group activity in class I would have a book pass and have the students pass these three books around and write a short list of their similarities and differences.  After each of the students has had a chance to read them I would have them as a group collaborate their ideas and create one large concept map on a poster board that compares the three books to each other.