The Rough-Face Girl

Martin, R., & Shannon, D. (1992). The rough-face girl. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Genre: Traditional/ Multicultural Literature

Age Level: 8-10

Summary: This tale takes place in an Indian village by Lake Ontario. Within the largest wigwam lives an “Invisible Being” who is a rich, powerful, and handsome warrior. All the young ladies in the tribe wish to marry him. However, he lives with his sister who states that only the woman who can see him can marry him. Within the same tribe is a poor man with three daughters. The oldest two daughters are very cruel to the youngest sister. They force her to sit by the fire and feed the flames causing sparks to burn the sister’s arms and face. When the two older sisters get dressed up and decide to convince the Invisible Being’s sister that they can see him and should marry him, the tribe expresses how beautiful they are. However the younger sister did the same thing and the tribe told her she was ugly and laughed at her. The Invisible Being’s sister sees right through the older sisters and do not allow them to marry the warrior. When the younger sister arrived to marry the Invisible Being, his sister was amazed at her honesty and beauty (even with the scars). The Invisible Being shows up at his wigwam and uses his power to turn the rough face girl into a beautiful lady and they live happily ever after.

Reflection: I found this story to be very similar to the modern “Cinderella” stories we often read that have been passed down through generations. This makes the setting a backdrop because the plot is the same; there are two evil sisters, a mistreated sister, and a charming prince the girls are trying to marry but in this version they are Native Americans. The story has person-against-person conflict because the evil sisters are bullying the younger sister. These types of stories teach students about how beauty is skin deep and that looks are not everything. When you see the beauty of objects throughout the world and treat others with kindness, then it will show. The "rough face girl" had burnt hair and scars of her arms, but her kind heart and appreciation for Earth's beauty made her a beautiful woman.

Students would enjoy reading this book because it is a different version of Cinderella that I feel boys would enjoy also because of the use of Native Americans. I feel many students would connect to this book because many times when at a young age we feel people make fun of us or tease us. This book would be a great way to discuss with students how bullying makes others feel with the use of the illustrations and the mood throughout the overall story.

This would be a wonderful book to teach compare and contrast. Students could compare and contrast this story and a different version of the Cinderella story. Students could complete a Venn diagram to help organize their thoughts about how the two stories are similar and different. Students could also work in groups create their own version of “Cinderella”. Once the stories are created then students could act them out to help build fluency and to connect to listening and speaking standards within the Common Core Standards. The story can be used as a cross curriculum story to help bring up the topic of Native Americans and how they believed in the spirits and felt nature was very important because of its beauty.

A few questions I would ask my students are: How do you think the evil sisters felt after the rough face girl married the prince? Why is it important to not judge others? How would you feel if you were the rough face girl?