ASHPET: AN APPALACHIAN TALE -- Book Review for Module 2

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

ASHPET: AN APPALACHIAN TALE. 1994. Retold by Joanne Compton. Ill. by Kenn Compton. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0-8234-1106-0.


2. PLOT SUMMARY

A variant of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, ASHPET is a poor servant girl who ends up with the Appalachian version of a prince -- the doctor's son.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
A true Cinderella variant, Compton retells the Appalachian Tale of a young servant girl mistreated by a wicked Widow woman and her two lazy daughters. The daughters are, of course, also ugly; Ashpet is, of course, .....not as bad. With little description, Compton manages to set up the archetypes of good and evil. Other Appalachian touches, like Aspet’s chores of “bustin’ wood” and “washin’ up,” keep the age-old story fresh; however, the handsome man, the lost shoe, and the fairy tale ending make it classic.

Kenn Compton’s illustrations are simple, but quite funny. Characters are barefoot throughout most of the book, and one crow manages to make it into almost every illustration. Amazingly, Compton’s version of Cinderella isn’t the raging beauty of the tales of old. She is almost as ugly as the widow’s daughters. She is, though, an admirable character -- charming, kind, diligent, obedient, and clever.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Publishers Weekly
In this capably handled hillbilly version of Cinderella , with elements borrowed from the Grimm Brothers' "Aschenputtel," a servant girl charms a doctor's son. … Ashpet's kind-heartedness never flags, and her generosity toward their "peculiar" neighbor, Granny, pays off. When the Hoopers go off to an important church meeting, Granny magically cleans the house and provides Ashpet with a pretty red calico dress and red shoes. The rest is fairy-tale history. … Kenn Compton opts for an artistic approach that's both subtler and more effective than that of the couple's debut, Granny Greenteeth and the Noise in the Night ; gangly Ashpet and her beau are goofy but not overbearingly so, and shucks, they're kinda cute. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3-As they did with Jack the Giant Chaser (Holiday, 1993), the Comptons have provided a cheerful Appalachian retelling of a classic tale. … Young readers may also note that, unlike some of the more passive Cinderellas, Ashpet earns her right to attend the church meeting by her kindness to the old granny and shows some ingenuity when she deliberately loses her shoe. Kenn Compton's humorous watercolor cartoons capture the action and feature wild facial expressions. Ashpet is depicted as being almost as homely as the widow's daughters. Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, LaramieCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


5. CONNECTIONS
*As suggested in School Library Journal, “Readers will enjoy comparing this to versions of the tale by the Grimms and Perrault, as well as to Louie Ai-Ling's Yeh-Shen (1990), based on the ancient Chinese variant mentioned in the author's note and to other American regional variants such as Rafe Martin's The Rough-Face Girl (1992, both Putnam).”
*Chart, as a group, the basic plot elements of a Cinderella tale and have children then write their own version.