I loved this book. And better yet, my 5 year old daughter sat spell-bound, her face inches from the pages, as I read this to her. As I finished the last page, she said, "Let's read it again!" Especially wonderful if, like my daughter, your child is of Iranian heritage. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story magical.

The Persian Cinderella is a welcome addition to this classic "rags to riches" tale. Most impressive are Florczak's paintings which absolutely leap off the page (contrary to Mr. March, there are no photographs in this book, Florczak's painings are simply so detailed and lifelike that they are occasionally mistaken for photography). I cannot recommend this book more highly.

What attracted me most to this book was the clever combination of pictures and paintings. Mr. Florczak seems to have combined Persian models and some photographs, then added his own magic touch to create such beutiful images that are feast for the eyes.

As an educator, I know that many people associate Cinderella with Walt Disney--not Brothers Grimm. Ms. Climo shows us the rags to riches of the same characters in different cultures. This one is particulrly fascinating because the story does not end as we are accustomed to presume.

Yes the girl gets to see her prince at the New Year party but as we know Scheherazade's stories are filled with twist and turns of events like the designs on a Persian carpet. Ms. Climo's art is to tell the story as a native. Here she is the Scheherazade. The Persian Cinderella is fun for those kids who already know the Disney's version. The story goes beyond the Ball.

I liked the Korean Cinderella too. Ms. Climo is as articulate as a Korean grandma and we are little kids too fascinated by the tale to care for a rice cake.

I think the Persian Cinderella is a wonderful read, and since it's produced so beautifully, it's a great gift for any kid ages 2 to 92.

Nicely written and beautifully illustrated children's fable. Everything you want in a children's book. I'm giving it to my grandaughter!

This book is wonderful! I read it all the time.Why I give this book 5 stars is because this book is really fun to read and I think that children might like this book too.The ant talks about how he might eat it when he is jut so small.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book for all ages. Young and old, male and female. My husband bought me this book for my birthday, knowing my love for princess lore. I'm now reading it to my granddaughter and grandson.

Ms. Climo presents seven stories from seven very different cultures. She includes introductions to each story that explain a little of the magic you're about to discover. Each story has a wise and meaningful message.

Down to earth Princesses; a wise Princess; an enchanting Princess and a determined Princess along with the untypical stories of a curious Princess; a stubborn Princess and a spoiled Princess all manage to captivate your heart and sigh as they all "live happily ever after".

This is a beautiful book -- both in its illustrations and in the stories and in its portrayals of strong women from around the world whom you can feel good recommending to your little girl as role models. I get tired of the same old Eurocentric fairy tales and nursery rhymes that are forced upon children today. It's important to have a global worldview and this book can be one of the first steps toward such an understanding. The fairy tales are not too long -- perhaps 8-20 pages each -- and come from many different countries. I gave it as a gift to a five-year-old girl who loves it, and I read it to my 6-yr-old son and 3-yr-old daughter, who both appreciate it.

I think a younger kid (4-8) would like to read this book. This book takes place at Christmas time in Germany. It is about an old lady named Tante (Auntie). Every year she decorates a Christmas tree for animals and they come enjoy the surprises she has for them. Tante doesn't like spiders so every year she wipes them away. The spiders want to see the tree, but they never get to. Read this book to see what happens to those little spiders this year.

I read and used this book for my college Language Arts class. I used it for a 5th grade lesson, as an example of a legend, but it could also be used to teach a science lesson. The pictures are realistic and beautiful. My fellow classmates thought it was a great book too.

I liked it very much.It gave me a new understanding of spiders and what they represent.

I bought this book for my 3 year old son who loves Thor. This book is very beautifully illustrated and the story itself is quite amusing. Thor (the Norse god of thunder)had his magic hammer stolen by a giant. In order to get it back the trickster god Loki comes up with a plan for Thor to pretend he is the beautiful goddess Frejya in order to trick the giant(and get his hammer back). This is a good story for both boys and girls and is not scary to read to young children. I explained to my son not to be afraid of real thunder as it is only Thor up in the sky protecting everyone (and this story really helped to drive that point home). He is no longer afraid of thunder during a storm.

A German woman cleans her house in preparation for Christmas. Then she invites her neighbors, farm animals, and wild creatures into her home to enjoy her tree. However, she never thinks to invite the spiders in. On Christmas Eve when the Christkindel comes, the spiders ask him to let them into the house to see the tree, which he does. As the spiders explore the tree, they cover it with their webs, which the Christkindel tranforms into beautiful tinsel. Thus explaining the tradition of tinsel.

I enjoyed the story but found the presentation flawed. Germans use comforters on their beds and not patchwork quilts, yet the woman is shown shaking out a patchwork quilt. In Germany, the Christkindel (Christ child) is the one who brings gifts on Christmas Eve, but he is portrayed looking like a slim, diminutive, American Santa Claus. Also, only a fraction of the many spiders shown have the requisite number of eight legs.

I enjoyed the story but will search for a different version of it before purchasing a copy for myself.

I think a younger kid (4-8) would like to read this book. This book takes place at Christmas time in Germany. It is about an old lady named Tante (Auntie). Every year she decorates a Christmas tree for animals and they come enjoy the surprises she has for them. Tante doesn't like spiders so every year she wipes them away. The spiders want to see the tree, but they never get to. Read this book to see what happens to those little spiders this year.

Cobweb Christmas is a delightful book that brings the magic of Christmas to children. Our family reads this book every Christmas Eve and is delighted year after year.

It showed how life was back then and what Zoe did to get rid of the Northern soldiers, but it didn't have much else. It was sort of boring.

Zoe Snyder is a yound girl who's whole world, like those around her, has been turned upside down. Zoe must struggle to keep her wits about her as she tries to survive the occupation of the Yankee forces in her town and in her home. She discovers that courage lurks in the strangest of places.

This was one of the first historical fiction novels I read as a child, and since then I have read many more. This is a short beautiful work that I would recommend to anyone of any age although it is aimed at young adults. Ms. Climo has a talent and I am glad she wasn't afraid to share.

I loved this book. It transports you into the middle of the civil war. It's easy to identify with Zoe, an ambitious young girl trying to take her house back form imposing soldiers. I read this book four years ago, and I find myself thinking of it often. It left a lasting impression in my memory.

I was extremely disappointed in this book. I found it to be overtly racist. I had bought it to share with my grade 3/4 classroom as we are studying Ancient Egypt. I like to stretch the curriculum with literature, art, and more. Unfortunately, I did not read the book carefully before I bought it. When I did, I noticed immediately that the 'cinderella' heroine of the story had golden hair and fair skin while the evil, lazy, etc step-sisters had dark hair & skin. This was explicitly written and illustrated. This is a shame and so unnecessary. Obviously, Egypt is in northern Africa and while some tales of Cleopatra suggest that she may have been fair due to the Ptolemy's Greek lineage, I would suggest that most inhabitants of ancient egypt were of african, mediterranean, semitic, or arabic descent and dark-hued. I strongly recommend that you NOT buy this book.

I'm surprised to hear this book described as racist. The inaccuracies in that review leave me to wonder whether the poster actually read the book.

The heroine's name, Rhodopis, referenced her sunburned skin. A real person may have inspired the fable, a light-skinned slave who married a Pharaoh.

The other girls were not step-sisters as the reviewer states, but servants. Rhodopis was a mere slave, making their unkind treatment of her more logical. Due to their rank in the Ancient Egyptian class system, she would be expected to do the less-desirable chores. For a lowly slave to be favored by their master would spawn jealousy and resentment. I don't recall any inference that their demeanor related to their skin color, and the reviewer overlooks the kindly Master and Pharaoh also being dark-skinned.

Such hotly-debated subjects a the race of Egyptians or of Cleopatra have no bearing on the story. Rhodopis is a Greek slave girl, and is neither described as Egyptian, nor called Cleopatra.

A good story with interesting historical references, it's a shame to see it dismissed as racist by a reviewer who clearly has overlooked many details of the book.

I really liked this version of Cinderella. It would be a great book to use in elementary classes when reading different versions of a story. Also you could use it as an introduction to an Egyptian unit because there is some fact within this story. This story of how Rhodopis' red slipper was taken from the falcon, the god Horus. Little did she know the falcon was bringing the slipper to Amasis, the Pharaoh. When he saw the slipper he was determined to find who it belonged to and marry her. His long travels led him to Rhodopis... This version had some similaries to the original but I liked how there was some fact behind the story!