The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books) [Library Binding]

Shirley Climo (Author), Ruth Heller (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Trophy Picture Books

In a Korean version of the familiar fairy tale, her evil stepmother gives Pear Blossom three impossible tasks, and she completes them with the help of magic and becomes a nobleman's wife. By the author of The Egyptian Cinderella.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Following The Egyptian Cinderella , Climo and Heller conflate several Korean variants of Cinderella to offer up the story of Pear Blossom, a lovely girl who is sorely mistreated by her nasty stepmother and stepsister. Climo's engaging reworking lends familiar thematic elements an Asian twist: the evil stepmother saddles Pear Blossom with such impossible tasks as picking up scattered grains of rice and weeding an enormous rice paddy; the girl's magical helpers include a tokgabi , or goblin; she loses one straw sandal on the way to the village festival. At once comfortingly familiar and intriguingly exotic, the text is especially noteworthy for its instructive but unobtrusive incorporation of Korean words. Heller's illustrations, based on extensive research of Korean art, are filled with images of enchanted animals, traditional costumes and, of course, pear blossoms. Lavish geometric borders combine intense greens, oranges and purples; the spreads, while making use of Western perspectives, retain a busy, Asian sense of pattern. Endnotes by both author and illustrator amplify the cultural context. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Shirley Climo's love of folklore began in her childhood and has provided the background for many of her children's books, such as The Korean Cinderella, Magic & Mischief: Tales from Cornwall, A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World, A Treasury of Mermaids: Mermaid Tales from Around the World, and Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales, an NCTE Teacher's Choice and Library of Congress Best Children's Book that was originally inspired by her research for Cobweb Christmas. Mrs. Climo and her husband live in Los Altos, California.

In Her Own Words...

"To write children's books always seemed the most wonderful goal in the world to me-and the most natural. My earliest memories are of being rocked in a creaky wicker swing while my mother, a children's book author, tried out various versions of her stories. Long before I could read, I'd begun telling my own tales to anyone willing to listen.

"I grew up, raised three children, a half dozen dogs, a clutch of cats, a horse, and a straggle of chickens. Each new addition provided story-telling material, and many two-legged and four-legged household members found their way into print. Even more important, I found that writing for young people was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped.

"My first book was Piskies, Spriggans and Other Magical Beings, a collection of folklore. My latest book is a revised and newly illustrated edition of Cobweb Christmas. Like the tradition of tinsel itself, the story of the spider's Christmas has become a part of holiday celebrations around the world. Its message of kindness to animals is as fresh today as it was when Cobweb Christmas was first told in Germany over two hundred years ago. In the twenty years between those two books, I've written picture books for the just-in-school set, chapter books for primary readers, story collections and nonfiction for middle grades, novels for preteens, and four retellings of the Cinderella theme -- Egyptian, Korean, Irish, and Persian. I seldom stray very far or for very long from the favorite folktales of my childhood.

"A century ago, folklorist Andrew Lang said, "Nobody can write a new fairy tale; you can only mix up the old stories and put the characters into new dresses."

"For me, playing dress-up is fun at any age. "

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060204338
• ISBN-13: 978-0060204334
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,359,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Longer Cinderella, February 11, 2000

By 

Michael Carlson Kapper - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books) (Paperback)

This is one of the longest text versions of the Cinderella story I have ever come across. It is a wonderful telling of the tale, and works nicely to illustrate how this tale is part of many cultures the world over. I can't speak to the accuracy of the details of Korean culture, but the artwork is fascinating. Due to length of the story, however, I tend to wonder how well it would hold younger children's attention. It works well, though, for illustrating cultural difference to college students.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Cinderella, May 1, 2005

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books) (Paperback)

There are as many as a half dozen versions of Cinderella in Korea. The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo is a combination of three Korean variations.

To honor her birth, a pear tree is planted and the newborn baby is named Pear. She is beautiful and loved by her elderly mother and father. When Pear's mother dies, her father remarries a woman with a daughter the same age as Pear. Beautiful Pear's stepmother is jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty and requires her to perform many impossible chores, while her own daughter, Peony watches.

With the help of magical creatures (frog, sparrow, and black oxen) Pear successfully completes each chore and is able to attend the festival. On the way to the festival she loses her shoe. The magistrate sees the beautiful Pear and calls out to her. Believing he is yelling at her, she runs away without her shoe. At the festival the magistrate looks for the girl without the shoe. And we can guess the end of the story.

The Korean Cinderella is recognizable and is a captivating variation of the American version. The paintings are colorful and lush. Children will love the story and thoroughly enjoy the illustrations. This is for children between the ages of five and nine.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, August 3, 2006

By 

Anne-Marie Gilliland (Near D.C., USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this version of Cinderella, I also liked how Climo included a little behind the scenes of the folktale on the back pages. I'm not the biggest fan of the illustrations however, I liked the patterns that were worked onto the pages, but the faces of the characters were sort of weird and disturbing at times, I wasn't drawn into the Pear Blossom's beauty they way I would have liked to have been (as was described in Climo's words)