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Summary
Summary
Luck and happiness come to a neglected, motherless girl.
Author Notes
Rebecca Hickox is the author of Zorro and Quwi; Tales of a Trickster Guinea Pig, illustrated by Kim Howard, which Kirkus Reviews calls "delightful," in a pointer review, Per and the Dala Horse, illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert, an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists selection, and Matreshka, illustrated by Alexi Natchev, which Booklist praises as "cleverly told." A high school librarian, Rebecca Hickox lives in Salem, Oregon, with her daughter, Rebecca.
Will Hillenbrand has written and illustrated many picture books for children. The Horn Book called Spring Is Here, the first Bear and Mole Story, "a sure-fire read-aloud for preschoolers;" and in a starred review, School Library Journal raved that Kite Day, the second book in the series, is "a winner for storytimes." He lives in Ohio.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3In this gentle Cinderella variant from Iraq, young Maha begs her widowed father to marry their seemingly kind neighbor, a widow with a daughter of her own. After the marriage, however, the woman grows to loathe her stepdaughter, and she and her daughter treat Maha like a slave. One day, the poor girl rescues a talking red fish that helps her over the years. Finally, it provides her with fine clothes so that she may attend a wealthy young woman's bridal ritual. She stays too long, and in her flight, she loses one of her golden sandals. Tariq, the bride's brother, finds it, and his mother searches the city for the owner of the shoe. Maha's foot is a perfect fit and she and Tariq live happily ever after. In her gracefully written narrative, Hickox effectively blends many familiar touches with elements of the story that will be new to Western audiences. An author's note provides the sources for this well-told tale. Hillenbrand's delicate, textured illustrations have the look of watered silk touched with glowing jewel-toned accents. The paintings integrate well with the text, and the result is a sweet, smooth book with just a hint of spice.Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
PW called this Iraqi Cinderella tale "a visual treat from start to finish." Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Maha, the beloved daughter of a widowed fisherman from Iraq, joins the burgeoning ranks of beguiling picture-book Cinderellas from around the world. In this simply written version, Maha's needed fairy godmother appears as a red fish whose life Maha has spared. The illustrations use both interior and external architectural details to re-create the limpid Middle Eastern landscape. A concluding note from author and illustrator records their respective research. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Hickox (Zorro and Quwi, 1997) finds her Cinderella in Maha, a fairy godmother in a red fish that Maha shows mercy to, and the lost slipper in a golden sandal, discovered by Tariq, brother of a rich merchant, who then takes on the search for his bride- to-be. When he arrives at Maha's house, her stepmother conceals her in an outdoor bread oven, but a happily-ever-after ending is as integral to this Iraqi version of the story as it is to other retellings. An illustrator's note explains the complex process undertaken for the artwork, done in stages with oils, oil pastel, egg tempera, watercolor, crayon and pencil on vellum, but what readers will come away with is an appreciation for the unusual setting, comic characters, and the age-old emotions and resolutions that rule this story. (Picture book/folklore. 5-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. Youngsters who have read Ai-ling Louie's Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China (1990) may notice similarities in this retelling of an old Iraqi Cinderella tale. Hillenbrand's illustrations capture a strong sense of place: women carry trays and jugs of water on their heads, and chickens outnumber dogs and cats on the streets. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, overworked Maha, the Cinderella character, stands in sharp contrast to her vain, lazy stepsister, another motif even the youngest child will quickly identify. However, some children won't understand why the male character, Tariq, wants to find and marry Maha when he hasn't met her (there's no dancing at a ball in this version) or why Tariq's horse won't drink from the water under the bridge. Even so, they'll sympathize with Maha and gasp in mock horror when the mean stepsister gets her due--a whole new look. (Reviewed April 1, 1998)0823413314Karen Morgan
