The Rough-Face Girl

I love this Native American version of Cinderella. The illustrations are unique and well correlated with the story. I also really enjoyed the differences in this version such as the 'prince' being an invisible man who is only seen by his sister. The sister tells everyone that only person who can

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see him can marry him. I love the portrayal of the mirthless and haughty sisters and how they embarrass themselves in front of the invisible man's sister. I think this is an excellent version of cinderella that should be viewed by children.

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This book is about a powerful Invisible Being that is looking for a wife, and all the girls in the village compete for his affections. But only the girl who proves she can see him will be his wife. In the end it is their Rough-Face-Girl sister, scarred on her face and arms from tending fires, who

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sees the Invisible Being in the wonder of the natural world.
I like this book a lot because it starts to introduce disabilities to children. It shows how everyone is different and should not be treated wrongly because of those differences. One activity I can do is have my students go around the class room and tell me one thing about themselves that no one else knows. Also, I can have them write a personal reaction to the story.

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The illustrations go well with the cultural focus and they are respectful. I liked reading the story because I was able to make connections with other Cinderella stories I have read previously.

K-4. Classic twist of a Cinderella story.

To use the words from the story, the Rough-Faced girl was, “very lonely and miserable, indeed.” This is the Algonquin’s version of Cinderella. The youngest of three sisters, the Rough-Faced girl is treated cruelly and is physically scarred by the work she is forced to do: tend the fire. Her

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father seems powerless against her sisters and bends to their whims for everything. In their village lives a great man called the Invisible Being. As the name suggests, he is invisible, but it is said that he will marry the one who can see him. The older sisters ask their father for new clothes that they might go present themselves to the Invisible Being’s sister as the brides for Invisible Being. They are so accustomed to getting their own way they are humiliated when they are unable to answer questions asked by the Invisible Being’s sister, nor see the Invisible Being. They are sent home in disgrace. The next day the Rough-Faced girl goes to her father and asks for new things because she too wishes to marry the Invisible Being. But her father has nothing for her. So, she improvises and makes a new outfit out of reeds, bark and shells. When she presents herself to the Invisible Being’s sister, the sister sees past the Rough-faced girls odd outward appearance, down to her good heart. The young girl is also able to accurately answer the sister’s questions about the Invisible Being’s appearance, because as we were told in the story, the Rough-faced girl sees the face of the Invisible Being all the time in their world around her.

This story is familiar and yet wonderfully fresh. The illustrations are beautiful and tell more about the culture of the Algonquin people than the words of the story. And while the story is a 'happily ever after' type ending, the owrds used to bring this version of the story to a close are so much better - . “They lived together in great gladness and were never parted.”

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The Rough-Face Girl is a classic Cinderella story told in the Native American point of view. The rough-face girl has two older sister who made her sit by the fire and feed the fire so the girl was very scarred from the fire. Her sisters one day go to their father and ask for the finest things

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because they were to marry the Invisible Being. He gives them those things and the Invisible Being's sister turns them away because they had not before seen the Invisible Being. The younger sister then goes to her father and asks for the fine things that her sisters received. He told her he had nothing left to give. But he had shells for a necklace and his moccasins from last year. She took these and went to see the Invisible Being. His sister tested the younger sister and realized that she had in fact seen him. He saw her and said she was beautiful and she bathed in the lake and all of her scars disappeared. Her and the Invisible Being were married.

I loved this book because I am Native American. It's nice to see classic tales told in your own native culture.

I would use this in the Native America segment of my curriculum. I would also use it and other Cinderella like books and have students compare and contrast.

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The Rough-Face Girl is about a young girl who's sisters made her sit by the fire to keep it going all day and night long. The sisters wanted to marry the "invisible man" who no one had seen except the rough face girl. The "invisible man" had a sister who was very picky in selected a wife for her

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brother and asked very hard questions to see if the women who wanted to be his wife had really seen him.

I LOVED this book because it was a story that showed even if you are the prettiest or had the best clothes, you didn't always get what you wanted.

I would use this in my classroom when talking about different kinds of people and how everyone is the same inside just not on the outside.

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An Algonquin Cinderella story. Tells of the rough face girl and her mean sisters and the rich and handsome invisible man. Only the woman who sees him will marry him.

This is a cinderella-like story. The story takes place long time ago near a lake. There were three Indian sisters. The two older sisters treated their younger sister with much cruelty. The made her sit next to the fire. This caused her face, hands, and hair to be scarred. She was known as the

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rough-face girl because of it. On the other side of the village was a invisible man, who was very handsome. Many women wanted to marry him. The only way they could is if they could prove that they saw him to his sister. The two older sisters, who where physically beautiful, but full of pride and had hard hearts, tried to deceive the sister into thinking that they both saw him. They failed and had to return to their wigwam embarrased. The younger sister did the same. She even asked for the same things from their father to make her beautiful, but he had only broken shells and big shows to give her. She made the best of what she had and with much confidence went to the invisible man's wigwam. The sister greeted her with an open heart. She could see the younger sister's beauty with in and her kind heart. She proved that she had seen the invisible man. He took her as his wife and they lived happily ever after.

My sister suggested I read this story. I thought it was just going to be the same old cinderella story. But I enjoyed it very much. What a great reminder that beauty within and a kind heart is more valuable than outward appearance and pride. Definitely a book I am going to read to my girls. After I read this, I sat for a while thinking about struggles I had as a little girl thinking I was not beautiful because I always felt different in some way.

I'd have them write their own variant of the story. I could also have them draw self-portraits and have a flap on the portrait that they could list what inner qualities they like about themselves.

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This is a Native American version of Cinderella. Neglected and ignored by her "evil" sisters, the rough faced girl is less fortunate looking than her sisters. When the rough faced girl wins the heart of the "invisible man," or this story's "prince charming" the moral of the book is revealed: inner

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beauty is the one that counts.

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I think this is a really good book for every child to read because it will open their eyes and teach them that every person should not be judged by what they look like on the outside but what is in the side too. I recommend this book to every child.

There is a reason that more than 1,000 versions of the Cinderella story exist. Many different cultures have embraced the tale of an honest and hard-working girl who is treated unfairly and cruelly but who triumphs and is rewarded with justice in the end because of her goodness. The classic tale of

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good triumphing over evil touches most people. While I think some of the values this old story relates are commendable I don't think it always sends such a great message to modern girls because it usually illustrates its values by couching the girl's worth in terms of her ability to "get her man". The handsome prince is the incentive for her to come out of her shell. He is the reason all of the magic takes place. He has the ultimate power to reward and punish and the power to make everything turn out happily ever after. This is one reason that The Rough-Face Girl, written by Rafe Martin and illustrated by David Shannon, is not one of my favorite books to read or recommend to children.

According to the author, this story is a Cinderella-type tale that is part of a longer traditional Algonquin story. Algonquins are a tribe of First Canadians that used to control and live in all of what is now southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. Today they live in nine communities in the southwest of Quebec and one in northeast Ontario. The word Algonquin should not be confused with the word Algonquian which refers to a varied group of related tribes that include the Algonquins as well as the Delaware, Blackfoot, Cree, Potawatomi and Ojibwe, among others.

This tale takes place on the shores of Lake Ontario and is about a girl that is known as the rough-face girl. She is the youngest of three sisters. The older two are haughty, cruel and lazy. The task of keeping the family's fire falls to the youngest girl and because she must always sit close to the fire, stirring its hot coals to keep the lodge warm, she is burned and scarred by the popping embers and sparks. Her face is marred and her black hair is ragged and dull from being burned repeatedly. Her hands and arms are also burned and covered in rough bandages. Her sisters do nothing but prance around the village, showing off their looks and finery. They heartlessly torment and tease their younger sister and never help with any work.

In their village there is one huge lodge that is the home of The Invisible Being and his sister. He is like a god, rich, powerful, benevolent...and like every Prince Charming...handsome. (At least it is said that he is handsome...he's invisible after all.) All the girls of the village want to marry The Invisible Being but he will only marry the girl who is able to see him.

Standard Cinderella plot lines ensue. The older sisters connive and lie and try to finagle their way into a marriage with The Invisible Being but his protective sister trips them up when they say they can see him by asking them to describe his bow and the runners of his sleigh. Of course they fail.

The father of the three sisters has nothing left for the youngest sister since the older girls used all of his resources to doll up for their shot at the Prince/Invisible Being. She dresses herself in birch bark, broken shells and a worn-out old pair of her father's moccasins that flap embarrassingly as she walks through the village to the lodge of The Invisible Being. You can guess what happens. In a way this story is two parts Cinderella plus one part Beauty and the Beast. Setting it in an Algonquin village really does not change this familiar story much but there are no good fairies in this one. Here the magical being is the man. There is no god-mother or pumpkin coach. In this story the magical transformation comes after the girl proves her goodness. It is a reward for goodness not an aid to goodness.

The publishers recommend this story for 4-8 year old children and I think that is about right. It has a simple text, not particularly engaging but not boring or difficult either. The text is set in medium size type with two or three short paragraphs per page. There is a full page illustration opposite each facing page of text so there is plenty of visual stimulation to keep imaginations focused on the story.

I think the illustrations are beautiful but they are a bit on the dark side. Nearly every one of them is shadowy. In a way this adds to the otherworldly quality of the tale but I think it also detracts some from the interest of the paintings. I think the paintings were probably done in acrylics but the artist does not make note of his medium here. The best illustrations depict the starry sky, a rainbow, a sunset, a forest and are colorful and evocative of the natural beauty of the bygone days in the wilderness around Lake Ontario. The artist has taken pains to capture some authentic details of Algonquin life and art but then surprisingly drops the ball in other areas. Algonquins lived in the wig-wam style of lodge which is a small domed dwelling constructed of bark or hide over a bent wood frame. The tall conical tipis were not used by the Algonquins. The scenes of the village in this book contain examples of both kinds of lodges side by side. The lodge of The Invisible Being himself is a towering conical tipi. The bead work, garments and the birch bark canoes that are depicted look authentic and are beautiful and interesting. The mythological being is shown in several imaginative and colorful ways that I think children will enjoy. I enjoyed them. The illustration of the father of the three sisters looks scraggly and gaunt and I didn't think that was fitting as this is shown to be a prosperous and thriving village. I suppose it was intended to indicate his poverty due to his selfish older girls but it just doesn't fit the scenario.

I have read this story to children who sat quietly and paid attention to the whole thing but I have not gotten repeat requests for it or found that it initiated much conversation. It would make a nice alternative for First Nation children whose parents might be tired of reading stories filled with little blonds and redheads to their kids but they will have to wade through the occasionally confusing imagery. Showing two different kinds of lodges does have the unexpected bonus of making the book's imagery familiar to people of more tribal backgrounds.

All in all, I think this book is fairly good. The art is certainly well-executed. The story is familiar which is a double-edged sword when young attention spans are at stake. The younger end of the 4-8 year old group will follow a familiar tale more easily while the older end of the spectrum may find it predictable. I am concerned about the village of stereotypical girls all fighting for one man's attention and being willing to lie, cheat or deceive to get his attention. The book features First Nation people and I think that makes it a helpful tool in bringing diversity into a child's outlook but I would search for better examples.

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Summary: This book is a beautiful distinctive tale full of art work. This tale is about an invisible being that every woman in the tribe wanted to marry. Although, the sister would not agree to let anyone marry him unless they could see him.The only woman that could see him was the rough-face girl

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because she had a pure and open heart and could see the beauty of the earth which was the invisible being.
Personal Reaction: This book show's great moral values with doing so it could show children to have a good heart and always to be good to others.
Classroom Extension Ideas: It could be a good idea to have the children to draw or write good things they could do for others to build there hearts more beautiful inside the shape of a heart.

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Summary: In The Rough Face Girl there was a certain wigwam that lived a “handsome invisible man” whom everyone wanted to see and marry. However, his sister stated only the one who can see him gets to marry him. In the same village lived a man with three daughters. Two of his daughters were

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awfully mean to the other they made her sit by the firing leaving her hands, arms, face and hair all scarred and burnt. The other two; however, were on a mission to get notice by the invisible man. The sister of the invisible man turned down the mean girls. The next day, the rough face girl wanted to try and marry the invisible man. As she walked through the village everyone was pointing and laughing saying, “look how ugly she is, she needs to go home she will never get to marry him.” As the sister of the invisible man looked at the rough face girl she did not just see her outside, she saw the inside of her and realized she had a beautiful heart. After several questions the sister knew the rough face girl was the one to marry her brother. The sister gave her a new robe and a shell necklace and the rough face girl had everything she would ever need.

Personal Reaction: I think a lot more people need to read this book. I think that it does not matter how beautiful you are on the outside, it is what is on the inside that truly counts. I see gorgeous girls all the time with bad attitudes and that just makes me think that they are not near as gorgeous.

Classrooms Extension Ideas: This would be a great reader for any age. This book would teach children that even if you are pretty on the outside being hateful and having a bad attitude makes you not near as pretty. This would also teach them that good things come your way if you have a pretty heart and treat others how they want to be treated.

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This story is a Cinderella story of another culture. This is a legend that was passed down through generations of the Algonquin Indians around Lake Ontario. The justice of the story creates an intriguing legend that gives hope to the oppressed. The characters of the two sisters are flat characters

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who are not very well developed. We know little about them and they are there to help move the plot along.

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This Native American twist on the classic Cinderella story is beautiful! I loved the similarities and differences between this version of Cinderella and the classic Cinderella. The Rough-Face Girl had two hard hearted step sister who mistreated her. They wanted to marry the Invisible Being but

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could not describe what his bow and the runner of his sled was made of to his sister so she knew that they had never actually seen the Invisible Being. The Rough-Face Girl had seen him quite often and she decided that she wanted to marry this Invisible Being and asked her father to dress her with new buckskin, moccasins, and beaded necklaces, but he had given everything he had to her two mean, older sisters. She was able to provide the Invisible Being's sister with correct answers and was able to marry him. The Invisible Being and his sister saw the beauty of the Rough-Face Girl even with the scars all over her and ragged clothes- they saw through her which is why she was able to marry him. The two lived happily ever after. I would definitely use this book in my classroom to read aloud with a classic version of Cinderella so that the students can see the diversity, retelling of a classic legend, and to compare and contrast the two versions. This was an awesome book!

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Very interesting Cinderella story, nice pictures, but end focused on beauty...

4P, 3Q

This book is an enduring children's favorite.

The tale and illustrations, while generally respectful to the story being told and the people from whom it came, has a few lapses: The Author's Note at the beginning acknowledges that this is an Algonquin tale, and talks about the history and

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popularity of Cinderella tales. It does not, however, mention where/when/from whom he first heard the tale, or any other notes about the story's source. The text says the Invisible Man lives in a wigwam, but a tipi is pictured (traditional Algonquin housing was wigwams, not tipis). As I, admittedly, do not know much about Algonquin culture and history, there could very well be other lapses.

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3Q 4P
"The Rough-Face Girl" an Algonquin Indian Cinderella has many of the same motifs and elements of the Euro-American Cinderalla stories. A kind, and good-natured girl is tormented by her cruel sisters and forced into a degrading position within the household. But when the opportunity to marry a

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mighty and lauded "Invisible Being" occurs, the Rough-Face girl proves her worth and inner beauty by winning his affections.
A beautifully illustrated book and a nice rendition of the Cinderella tale. The incorporation of nature and appreciating the beauty it offers to those who look for it is also a nice lesson.

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In this variant of Cinderella, the “prince” is a powerful Invisible Being, and “only the one who can see him can marry him.” The father is living in this version, but doesn’t protect his youngest daughter from the torments of the 2 older ones, who make her tend to the fire (resulting in

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scarred face and arms). The 2 older sisters try to impress the Invisible Being, hoping by dressing up will impress him, but of course they have never seen him. The Rough Face girl, however, has seen him embodied in the earth around her. The Invisible Being acknowledged her true beauty – her inner beauty – and then she was able to bathe in the lake and become outwardly beautiful before they are married and “lived together in great gladness and were never parted.” Includes author’s note.

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This is a wonderful way to introduce children to native American verbal patterns, using a story which, in many respects is similar to one that children already know.

I love this book, particularly because it is a spin on the traditional Cinderella fairy tale, but the heroine does not need someone to save her. By being honest and kind, she saves herself and finds happiness for herself.

This is a good book to teach the elements of a fairy tale to young children.

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It has magic, such as rainbow faces and an invisible man. There is good versus bad. There is strong character development, with a clear heroine. The illustrations are beautiful and really capture the emotions of the story well. It teaches a beautiful lesson - that kindness and truthfulness always wins.

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My all-time favorite "Cinderella story."
A beautiful tale with beautiful illustrations.

When given the assignment to read fairy tale's this book from my childhood popped into my mind. The story itself I couldn't remember but the cover of the book stood out in my mind. I researched using Google key words about a girl covering her face and after a few clicks I found the cover I was

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seeking. I then went the the library and reread this book that made such impression. I remember the first time I read this story it was at museum discussing folklore in the Native American culture. While this book would be excellent to use during a study on Native American's it would also be great for self worth discussions. I love the fact that only this young girl can see his bow in the air and that he is the only one who can see her for her true beauty in. It would be a great spring board for discussing the value within each of us.

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