Bibliographic Information: Coburn, J.R., Lee, T.C. (1996). Jouanah, a Hmong Cinderella. Illus. Anne Sibley O’Brien. Ancardia, Calif: Shen’s Books.
Brief Annotation: A Hmong Cinderella is told with the main character being Jouanah, a girl who lives on a farm in a village. After her mother is magically turned into a cow her father remarries another woman with a girl around the same age as Jouanah. Her stepmother and sister are envious of her good looks and force her to stay at home and work on the farm. When the New Year celebration takes place is town Jouanah wants to attend, but is stuck at home doing chores. As she is finishes her chores on the third day, she sits to rest and a magic cow hide of her deceased mother provides her with a beautiful dress to wear to the celebration. When she arrives the son of the town elder is instantly attracted to her, but as she rushes home to beat her stepmother and sister there, she leaves behind her shoe. The son of the town elder finds the shoe and is on a search for the girl he loves.
Genre: Fiction, Folktale, Picture book
Grade Level:K-6
Readers who will like this: Children who like Cinderella; Children who are Hmong; Children who enjoy festivals and celebrations
Response/Rating: 2; the part of the story where the girls mother turns into a cow is a bit out of the ordinary from what I am used to. The story does send a positive message of finishes ones work before celebrating and places emphasis on the importance of being kind.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Is there something special that you own that was passed down to you from a loved one?
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