Every day Zahra and her parents read the Qur'an and they never miss a pray. Zahra looses both her mom and father and she is stuck with an wicked step mother and her two daughters. Zahra always tries to genital and forgiving even when she is treated poorly. I thought this book was amazing. The illustrations are beautiful and the story does a great job of blending the traditional story with Muslim faith. "you must hold fast to the rope of Allah" were the last words her father spoke. A great cultural discussion would be introduced with this story in the classroom about cultural similarities. Lets focus on what we have in common such as the themes of the Cinderella story most Americans grew up with rather than what the differences are between our culture and Zahra's.

5Q 3P
This is a beautifully illustrated retelling of Cinderella that integrates Islamic prayers, morals, and religious traditions into the tale. I think that it offers a great alternative to Cinderella (the now ubiquitous Disney version) but still keeps the essential elements of the basic Cinderella story. However, the Islamic traditions & prayers may be a bit alienating to those familiar with the Disney version. However, it could be a very educational version when comparing fairy tales across cultures. ( )