Cinderella of the Nile (One Story, Many Voices)

The ancient Mediterranean slave trade drives the plot of this 2,000-year-old legend retold by Naidoo. A girl named Rhodopis (Greek for "rosy-cheeked") is celebrated for her beauty, but pirates know that "a girl like this could be sold for a fat bag of silver coins." Like a river, Rhodopis's story rolls by many things: a sojourn with the owner of the legendary field slave Aesop--who tells her a fable of trees and reeds, emphasizing that because the reeds bend, they do not break--and a place with a Greek merchant who treats her like a daughter, sparking the jealousy of his Egyptian servants (three malicious sisters). From here, the parallels with "Cinderella" emerge, as a slipper stolen by Horus the falcon god unites Rhodopis and the Pharaoh. Vafaeian's richly hued and intricately detailed folk-style illustrations offer a visual counterpoint to a complex tale. Ages 7-11. (Jul.)

Gr 2-4-While Charles Perrault may have popularized the European version of "Cinderella," author/reteller Naidoo recounts the tale's earlier history in an introduction. Cinderella likely had its start in ancient Greece with a rosy-cheeked girl named Rhodopis. The beautiful girl is stolen from her family and sold into slavery, winding up in Egypt. Rhodopis befriends another enslaved person named Aesop, a storyteller. Because she doesn't smile, the red-haired Rhodopis is again sold further down the Nile but carries with her a bit of Aesop's wisdom. There she is purchased by an elderly Greek merchant named Charaxos. The other women and girls enslaved by Charaxos resent the preferential treatment given to the Rhodopis and purposely neglect to tell her about the pharaoh's feast. A red slipper that was given to Rhodopis by Charaxos is stolen by Florus the Falcon who soon drops it in the garden of the pharaoh. Intrigued, the pharaoh sets out to find the foot that can fit into it. Stylized, highly textured illustrations appear on single pages and spreads highlighted against generous white space. VERDICT A sophisticated retelling, though there are no source notes included. This may be an interesting variant and a useful addition to library collections.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library