Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story

by Robert D. San Souci

Overview

Once, an Ojibwa man whose wife had died raised three daughters alone. The two older girls were lazy and bad-tempered, and made their youngest sister do all the work. When the flames from the cooking fire singed her hair or burned her skin, they laughed and called her Sootface.



While she worked, Sootface dreamed that one day she would find a husband. Then a mighty warrior with the power to make himself invisible decides to marry. Only a woman with a kind and honest heart could see him, and be his bride.



Though her sisters ridicule her, Sootface sets off to try her luck, never looking back. Her courage and good nature bring her the husband she has longed for.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780440413639
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/12/1997
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	438,579
Product dimensions:	8.31(w) x 10.56(h) x 0.15(d)
Lexile:	AD640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Robert D. San Souci is the award-winning author of many popular books for young readers, including the Short & Shivery books, and the quartet of picture books about Arthurian legends, Young Merlin, Young Guinevere, Young Lancelot, and Young Arthur.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 4-Sootface's mother is dead, her sisters beat her, and her father doesn't intervene. Her face is always smeared with soot, and her hair is horribly singed from the cookfire. In spite of all this, she remains resilient-she knows that one day she will escape her circumstances. A mighty warrior who has the power to make himself invisible decides to marry the woman who is kind enough of heart to see him. Several attractive maidens, including Sootface's sisters, try and fail. Now, Sootface is resourceful-no fairy personage shows up to magically bestow finery upon her or to fix up her hair. She prepares herself the best she can and goes off to meet him. She exclaims on the beauty of his bow-it's made of a rainbow and strung with stardust. He materializes, renames her Dawn-Light, and they are betrothed. The retelling is lively, flows well, and brings out the harshness of the heroine's situation, and yet it is not without humorous touches. The full-page watercolors dramatically convey the natural woodland setting, the jeers of Sootface's sisters and fellow villagers, and the serenity and kindness of the warrior and his sister. Sootface's dazed expression remains rather similar throughout-until the end, when she is transformed by love into a beautiful girl. Altogether a refreshing and rewarding ``Cinderella'' variant.-Vanessa Elder, School Library Journal

School Library Journal