The Golden Sandal

August 2, 1999
PW called this Iraqi Cinderella tale "a visual treat from start to finish." Ages 4-8.

April 1, 1998
K-Gr 3-In this gentle Cinderella variant from Iraq, young Maha begs her widowed father to marry their seemingly kind neighbor, a widow with a daughter of her own. After the marriage, however, the woman grows to loathe her stepdaughter, and she and her daughter treat Maha like a slave. One day, the poor girl rescues a talking red fish that helps her over the years. Finally, it provides her with fine clothes so that she may attend a wealthy young woman's bridal ritual. She stays too long, and in her flight, she loses one of her golden sandals. Tariq, the bride's brother, finds it, and his mother searches the city for the owner of the shoe. Maha's foot is a perfect fit and she and Tariq live happily ever after. In her gracefully written narrative, Hickox effectively blends many familiar touches with elements of the story that will be new to Western audiences. An author's note provides the sources for this well-told tale. Hillenbrand's delicate, textured illustrations have the look of watered silk touched with glowing jewel-toned accents. The paintings integrate well with the text, and the result is a sweet, smooth book with just a hint of spice.-Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA

April 1, 1998
Ages 5^-8. Youngsters who have read Ai-ling Louie's "Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China" (1990) may notice similarities in this retelling of an old Iraqi Cinderella tale. Hillenbrand's illustrations capture a strong sense of place: women carry trays and jugs of water on their heads, and chickens outnumber dogs and cats on the streets. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, overworked Maha, the Cinderella character, stands in sharp contrast to her vain, lazy stepsister, another motif even the youngest child will quickly identify. However, some children won't understand why the male character, Tariq, wants to find and marry Maha when he hasn't met her (there's no dancing at a ball in this version) or why Tariq's horse won't drink from the water under the bridge. Even so, they'll sympathize with Maha and gasp in mock horror when the mean stepsister gets her due--a whole new look. ((Reviewed April 1, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)