The Egyptian Cinderella

“Long ago, in the land of Egypt, where the green Nile widens to meet the blue sea, there lived a maiden called Rhodopis.” Thus begins Shirley Climo’s The Egyptian Cinderella. This blending of fact and myth from ancient Egypt tells the story of Rhodopis, a girl who was taken from her homeland of Greece to be a slave in Egypt. Because her fair skin and blonde hair made her different than the Egyptian house servants, they teased her and made her do their work along with her own. Her disinterested master did not notice how Rhodopis was treated, but one day saw her dancing by the river. He was so impressed, that he had a special pair of slippers made for her, making the Egyptian girls more jealous than ever. When they are invited to Memphis to meet the Pharaoh, Rhodopis is left behind where a falcon, symbol of the god Horus takes one of the slippers and delivers it to the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh Amasis begins a search for the one girl who fits the slipper to make her his queen. The search is the stuff of fairy tales and ends with a happily ever after that makes readers cheer for the “most Egyptian of all”.

Ruth Heller illustrates the tale using “powerful visual presentations reminiscent of the figures on Egyptian frieze paintings and carvings” (School Library Journal, 1989). She uses bright colors to illustrate the story with colorful images that represent Egypt—lotus flowers, hippos, the great falcon, and of course, the River Nile. The text and illustrations are cleverly intertwined, ensuring that readers will enjoy this imaginative variation of a beloved favorite.

I would recommend this book for students aged Kindergarten—third grade.

Keywords associated with this book: Cinderella, Egypt, falcon, Pharaoh, fairy tale, picture book, slippers