We all know the Disney story of Cinderella, her prince, and her fairy godmother. This version was inspired by the fairy tale as it became popular in Western culture thanks to the Brothers Grimm, though the tale of Cinderella is believed to be much older and thought to date from ninth-century China. In all versions, the story is of a young woman who has an isolated and lonely life until her circumstances are dramatically improved.

Paul Fleischman’s book Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella incorporates multiple variations of the story from around the world. It shows us just a small example of how different cultures have adapted the story.

Check out these other world-wide versions of a classic fairy tale available at the library:

North America

The Rough-face Girl by Rafe Martin (Native American)

Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story by Tomie DePaola

Domitila: A Cinderella Tale From the Mexican Tradition by Jewell Reinhart Coburn

Cinderella by Chloe Perkins (Mexico)

Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci

Africa

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

Asia

The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale From the Jewish Tradition by Nina Jaffe

The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo

Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story From China by Ai-Ling Louie

Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani-Williams

The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella by Rebecca Hickox

Europe

The Orphan: A Cinderella Story from Greece by Anthony Manna

Fair, Brown & Trembling: An Irish Cinderella Story by Jude Daly

Amelia

Amelia is a Librarian Assistant at the Austintown and Michael Kusalaba branches of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. She loves fall foods, fall festivals, fall leaves, and pretty much everything related to fall. She enjoys reading contemporary and historical romances.