Posted By: Beth
Posted On: November 20, 2019
My name is Beth Nunley and I teach music at Eastbrook Elementary in Winfield , WV. My classes include students from kindergarten through fifth grade. A few times a year, students and I read stories in my classroom. In the lower grades, we add instrumental sounds to accompany characters, objects, places, etc. when reading stories. In the upper grades, students collaborate to develop simple melodies and sounds to accompany readings.
Along with the American version of Cinderella, it would be a great book to use as a compare and contrast activity. The main characters, Cinderella and Pear Blossom, share the same theme of daughters who have lost their mothers and gained wicked stepmothers and stepsister(s). Both prevail over their wicked stepmother and stepsister(s) and end up being rescued by a man, a prince for Cinderella and a magistrate) for Pear Blossom.
The Korean version lacks a fairy godmother, but Pear Blossom gains help through a frog, sparrows, and an ox. There is not a glass slipper in the Korean version, however it is replaced by a straw sandal. Cinderella was confined to house cleaning, while Pear Blossom is outside fetching water, hulling rice, and weeding rice paddies.
Overall a very interesting book and a nice variation of Cinderella. The cover and pages of the Korean version are very colorful and attractive. Students will enjoy the story and looking at the pictures!