THE ROUGH-FACE GIRL
Illustrated by David Shannon
G. P. Putnam, 1992
Also available in paperback

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An award-winning recreation of a classic Native American (Algonquin) Indian Cinderella, this is a mysterious, magical, powerful book. Many of Rafe’s readers call it their favorite of his books, and it has won much recognition in the world of children’s literature. It is the Cinderella we all know, but bears no resemblance to the Disney version.

“There are many versions of the Cinderella story, but none is more eloquent or affecting—or more strikingly illustrated.”   

—Parent’s Magazine

“... a welcome rediscovery of an American Indian Cinderella variant whose heroine is both a religious mystic and a seeker after true love.”
—Newsweek

“Simply in the words of an oral storyteller, Martin retells an Algonquin folktale... Shannon’s finely crafted ... paintings ... embody the full flavor of the story.... this is a splendid read-aloud.”         —School Library Journal

“[This] Cinderella story ... from Algonquin Indian folklore....is bound to startle any Disney-raised child.... there’s a mysticism and depth to this version that take it to a plane far beyond Disney.”
—Providence Journal-Bulletin

“The Rough-Face Girl is a wonder.”
—Nancy Willard, Newberry Award-Winner

“In this powerful retelling of a Native-American Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl, the youngest of three daughters, is so named because years of tending the fire have scarred her face and arms. She earns the love of and the right to marry the powerful Invisible Being by seeing him in the beauty of the earth around her. The text contains the cadences and rhythms of oral language, and the illustrations, dark and vivid, use earth tones and shadows to convey the drama. A well-told tale in a handsome format.”
—The Horn Book