The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story

The story itself follows a familiar track, even to the lost slipper, but the exotic setting, plus several humorous touches, set it apart from the rest of this year's crowd.

This Southeast Asian variation adds some tropical zest to the oft-told tale.

A storytelling treat.

Ruffins's brightly colored, patterned paintings evoke the story's Southeast Asia island setting.

K-Gr 4-A handsome Cinderella variant from the Spice Islands. Young Damura is advised by her dying mother to be kind to all wild creatures. Later on, in an interesting twist, the girl is bribed with a doll to plead her would-be stepmother's case to her father. After the marriage, she is mistreated by the woman and her daughter. She loses her old sarong while washing laundry in the river. Hearing her sobs, a crocodile offers to retrieve it if the girl will rock her baby, and returns with a silver dress. When the greedy sister tries the same thing but is cruel to the baby and crisp with Grandmother Crocodile, she wins a leech-covered rag. Years later, when a prince seeks a bride, the stepsister wears the silver dress but Grandmother Crocodile supplies Damura with the essentials. After the prince claims his bride with a lost slipper and the two are married, the jealous stepmother and her daughter push Damura into the river where she is eaten by a crocodile. In a funny sequence, Grandmother confronts her river children and a fat crocodile is forced to cough out Damura. Ruffins's handsome acrylic paintings reflect the Indonesian love of color and pattern. Page design varies to include bordered illustrations, vignettes, and several eloquent silhouettes. Sierra's retelling is strong and fun to read aloud. A useful author's note sorts out variations in motifs across cultures. A fine addition to the groaning shelf of Cinderella stories.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Setting this colorful story in the Spice Islands, Sierra (Nursery Tales Around the World) incorporates motifs found in Cinderella folktales from various parts of the world as well as elements of Diamonds and Toads-type fables. Overworked by her conniving stepmother and stepsister, Damura one day loses her tattered sarong in the river. When a crocodile responds to her pleas for help, Damura remembers her late mother's advice to treat wild creatures with respect. She talks politely with Grandmother Crocodile, who fetches for her "a silver sarong that sparkled like the night sky." Damura's deceitful stepsister soon pretends she has lost a sarong, too, in hopes of receiving an equally lovely new one, but the crocodile gives her a sarong that turns into a filthy rag swarming with leeches. Later, when the prince invites all the young women to dance for him at the palace, the crocodile produces a sarong of pure gold for Damura, plus slippers to match. A few departures from the standard Cinderella story will keep readers on their toes. Sierra's confident delivery finds its match in Ruffins's (Running the Road to ABC) primitivist acrylic art, which captures the lush vegetation, sparkling multitoned waters and the people's patterned clothing while retaining an essential calm and spareness. Strategic use of spot art and small silhouettes in addition to full-page and full-spread compositions creates a visual syncopation. Even with an abundance of available Cinderella stories, this version is memorably vivid. Ages 4-8. (Nov.)

Copyright 2000 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.