Abadeha

Abadeha: The Philippine Cinderella

Adapted by: Myrna J. de la Paz

Illustrator: Youshan Tang

Publisher: Shen’s Books

Copyright: 2001

31 Pages

Philippine Folklore

            I chose to read this book because Cinderella is one of my favorite Disney stories and I was curious how different cultures vary in their interpretation of Cinderella. Abadeha is raised in the islands called the Philippines with her father and mother until her mother gets very sick and dies when Abadeha is thirteen. Abadeha’s father remarries a woman with two daughters of her own and they all become very jealous of Abadeha because of her beauty and kindness. Running from her stepmother, Abadeha cries out in the forest and she then sees the Spirit of the Forest. The Spirit of the Forest helps Abadeha so that her stepmother will not punish her for the impossible tasks that she has given her just so she will be able to punish her later. The Spirit of the Forest gave Abadeha a sarimanok to take home with her has her pet; however, when her stepmother sees the big, beautiful chicken she kills it for supper. Abadeha is very upset and goes to the Spirit of the Forest to show her what her stepmother has done. The Spirit of the Forest instructs Abadeha to bury the feet of the sarimanok beside her mother’s grave. There a beautiful tree starts to grow that was laden with jewelry. Abadeha does not tell anyone of the special tree; however, the son of the island chieftain happens upon the tree and takes a ring from it. The prince’s finger swells and he cannot get the ring off so he decides to tell his father what has happened. Then the prince has a dream of a beautiful girl who takes the ring off for him. The prince tells his father of his dream and his father sends messengers out to announce that any girl who can remove his son’s ring will marry him. Word gets to everyone on the island including Abadeha and her step sisters. Abadeha knows that she can remove the ring so she goes to the prince and takes the ring off for him. So the prince marries her that day and Abadeha is never mistreated again.

            The illustrations in this book contain many rich, vibrant colors. The illustrator seems to have chosen watercolors as the medium because some of the illustrations seem almost transparent. The text placement is very formal with spot art of the pages with the text and full pages of illustrations. The illustrations are also very detailed a have dream-like mood. The illustrations are somewhat blurred and very thick, dark lines outlining the characters and the details in the illustrations. The illustrations do not have any negative space and the backgrounds of the illustrations add to the richness of the pictures.

       This book is appropriate for both young and older children. I believe any age student would enjoy reading about Abadeha. Teachers could use this in their classroom has a character education book on how to treat others nicely and to always be kind. Teachers could also use this book to introduce the many cultures throughout the world and how our culture is so similar to the Philippine culture.