The Rough-Face Girl

The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin & David Shannon

Traditional/Folk Literature

This is an Algonquin Indian version of the age-old fairy tale "Cinderella." Set in a village on the shores of Lake Ontario, the story begins with the introduction of the Invisible Being- a very rich, powerful, and supposedly handsome man- a man whose sister is the only one who can see him. His sister says that only the woman who can see him as well can marry him. We are introduced to a poor man and his three daughters- two very beautiful girls and the Rough-Face girl, whose face is scarred and rough from feeding the fire. The two beautiful sisters decide they will marry the Invisible Being, but when his sister asks them what his bow is made of they cannot correctly answer the question and are sent away. The next day the Rough-Face girl goes to meet the Invisible Being's sister and on her way there she sees the Invisible Being's face. When his sister asked the Rough-Face girl if what his bow was made of, she answers correctly. His sister is overjoyed and brings the Invisible Being in to meet the Rough-Face girl. They gave her beautiful robes and jewelry and tell her to bathe in the lake- and when she does, all her scars disappeared and she is as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. The Rough-Face girl and the Invisible Being are married and live together happily for the rest of their lives.

This book would be really great for predicting because it is very similar to Cinderella, which most students will already be familiar with. It is different enough to keep students interested while reading but familiar enough that it would be a good modeling book to show them how to predict.