This Mexican version of Cinderella, written by Jewell Reinhart Coburn and illustrated by Connie McLennan, is a great way to introduce the Mexican culture to young readers while pairing it with something familiar to them. I have started to read the inside book covers of all of the books I read before I actually read them. I was glad I read this one first because it provides some interesting insights. It mentions that, unlike other Cinderella stories, in this one the “prince” is the only person who transforms. In the American version we are all familiar with, Cinderella’s fairy godmother comes and creates a beautiful dress and shoes for her to wear to the ball, but that does not happen in this story. The inside of the book cover says that “the only transformation in this story is Timoteo’s—Domitila’s suitor—as we watch him mature from an arrogant politician’s son to a compassionate family man…All Domitila has are her innate qualities and her family legacy.” I think that this is an important message for young readers--they don’t need fairy godmothers and glass slippers in order to be happy.
After Domitila’s family’s house and crops are destroyed in the rains, she goes to work as a cook at the Governor’s house. Her mother falls ill and dies, and Domitila is called home, but not before she has impressed Timoteo, the Governor’s son with her cooking. She loses part of her shoe as she is leaving, and Timoteo sets out to find her. He is sent astray by a woman trying to steal him for her own daughter, but eventually finds and marries Domitila.
Coburn uses beautiful languages in this book; for example, when Domitila is describing a shawl she wants to make for her mother, it says “The border would be like our purple Sierras with a sunset sky of rose and gold yarn.” The imagery of this line allows me to be able to visualize the shawl as it is being described.
Both the author and illustrator did a wonderful job of integrating Mexican culture into the book. One element I immediately liked about this book was the sayings set above and below the story. For example, above the first passage is this quote: “Obras son amores y no buenas rezones” and below: “Deeds, more than words, are proof of love.” This adds an extra bit of Mexican culture to the book. I thought it was great that simple Spanish words were used in the text instead of English ones where appropriate, for example “The family worked hard to build their small adobe casa.” Everything about this book worked together to instill Mexican culture in the reader while pairing it with something familiar. At the end of the book is a glossary of Spanish words used in the text and a recipe for the nopales mentioned in the text, which are both great instructional tools.
The illustrator did a wonderful job of recreating the Mexican setting. I have never been to
Certain elements are similar to elements in the American version. The girl in both versions is forced to work as a servant, either for her step-mother or for the Governor of Hidalgo’s family. Although Domitilia does not have a fairy godmother, her mother’s spirit appears to her at her family’s home. Her spirit offers Domitila advice, much like the fairy godmother does in the American version. In the American version, Cinderella loses her glass slipper after the ball, but in this story, she loses part of her sandal when she is called home because her mother is sick. A widow along Timoteo’s way tries to trick him into marrying her daughter by tricking Domitila’s father into marrying her. Domitila is then forced to work as a servant for her stepmother and stepsister. Fortunately there is a turn of events that the stepmother did not foresee, and Timoteo meets and marries Domitila.
This book reminds me a lot of Climo’s The Korean Cinderella for obvious reasons. Both are about another country’s version of the Cinderella story, and both integrate elements of their own culture into a well-known tale so that readers can learn from the story.
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