Fairy Tales in Different Cultures-Vasilissa and Baba Yaga

Today we will look at a Russian version of Cinderella. I found two picture books with basically the same story and we will look at both today, but first a bit about Russia. Somehow after a week of a deep freeze in New England, Russia seems like the right country to talk about. (I literally heard a radio host mention a town in Russia for having the record for lowest temperatures. She kept checking them because it made our temperatures seem so much better.)

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Angkat: The Cambodian Cinderella

I thought I would try to finish the fairy tales that I know of and can get for our series of Fairy Tales in Different Cultures. This one is Angkat: The Cambodian Cinderella and the version I used is written by Jewell Reinhart Coburn. Since i have been away this weekend and have had one of those days, I am going to skip giving you information about Cambodia. I also am using crafts we have shared in the past. To see the original post, just click on the picture!

A lonely fisherman lives with his daughter, Angkat, in Cambodia in a riverside home. Angkat (which means ash child) was dutiful and obedient. Beyond the fisherman's ponds lived a widow with her daughter, Kantok. Kantok was beautiful, but no redeeming qualities. The fisherman met the widow one day and shortly after they became married. The stepmother wanted Kantok to become the Number One daughter in the family. Angkat was upset and protested since the Number One daughter rightfully would be her. The stepmother proposed a test of fishing. The daughter who came back with the most fish would be Number One daughter. The Number Two daughter would have to serve the family without complaint. 

On the day Angkat took her basket and went into the cold pond and caught four fish. Kantok, who was lazy, dilly dallied along the way and arrived at the pond as Angkat was finishing. Angkat was cold and tired so she came out and wrapped her dry sampot around her. She wedged her basket with four fish in it between two rocks in the river and took a nap.

While Angkat slept, Kantok stole three of the fish from her basket and tipped the basket over to make it look like they escaped on their own and then ran home with the three fish. When Angkat woke up she found her stepsister gone and only one fish in her basket. She knew she was doomed to be the Number Two daughter. On her way home she let the poor little fish in her basket go in one of her father's ponds. While out doing her chores one day a shimmering fish came out of the pond and spoke to her. She recognized the little fish and saw a good spirit possessed it. She began to feed the little fish some of her rice. After this Angkat was no longer lonely. 

Blue Fish with Rainbow Fish Qualities

Kantok got suspicious of what was making Angkat so happy and followed her one day. She saw Angkat feed the fish some rice. The next day when Angkat was down the river fishing, Kantok caught the fish and brought him home for lunch.

Angkat was so upset when she realized her small friend was gone. She ran home to her mat and cried. The spirit of virtue appeared to her and told her what happened to her friend and told her to get the fishbones and put them under her mat that night. The next morning a beautiful pair of golden slippers were under her mat. The Spirit of Virtue told her to leave one that night by the open window and the other under her mat, and she did. She woke up to a large black bird carrying away the slipper. She was very upset.

Shortly after the prince was out walking in the palace gardens when a bird swooped down and dropped the golden slipper into his hands. At first he wondered why the slipper was dropped there, but decided that it was to help determine who his bride should be. He began the search for the woman who could fit the slipper. The stepmother, father and Kantok left to have Kantok try on the slipper telling Angkat she had too much work to do to try  it on. The stepmother took a bowl of rice and scattered it over the nearby field. She told Angkat she could attend the celebration after she had collected every single grain of rice. Angkat's father did not speak up for Angkat and left with his wife and stepdaughter. After they left a flock of chicken appeared and quickly filled her basket with every grain of rice, so Angkat could go to the celebration and try on the slipper. She quickly changed into her best sarong and hid the other beautiful slipper inside and set off to the palace. 

The prince was happy to see her when she arrived since no one had fit into the slipper. He insisted on having her do it right away and of course it fit perfectly and she pulled the other one out. He married her after the court women prepared her to be a princess with silk, fragrant oils and a multitude of flowers. The prince and Angkat were happily married and truly loved one another. However her entire family was very jealous of her and developed a scheme to get rid of her and have Kantok take her place. Her father sent a message to the prince saying he was gravely ill and needed his daughter home with him. Since the prince loved Angkat he permitted her to go.

When she arrived she was ordered to make her father hot soup. When she got close to the big pot on the fire, they knocked it over on her and killed her. They put sad looks on their faces and went to tell the prince of Angkat's death. They offered him Kantok as a substitute wife. The prince allowed her to stay at the palace to honor Angkat's memory. He was grief struck.

When the stepmother and father returned home they discovered a large beautiful red-leafed banana plant in the very place Angkat had been killed. The stepmother ordered the father to get rid of it since she feared Angkat's spirit had come back to haunt them. He got out his machete and cut it down in pieces then he went far into the forest and spread the pieces out. Everywhere a piece landed sturdy bamboo shoots rose from the ground.

The companions of the prince took him on a hunting trip to try to get his mind off Angkat's death. They decided to camp in a bamboo grove. While sleeping there he heard something comforting in the wind. He listened more closely and then ordered that all the bamboo be dug up and brought back to the palace. Then he sat in his bamboo grove each day.

One day he heard Angkat's voice telling him she was with him. The prince begged the Spirit of Virtue for the return of his true love. First he saw her faintly and then they touched hands. When Kantok looked out the palace window and saw this, she screamed and ran away from the palace. The family was banished from Cambodia and the prince eventually became king with Angkat his queen. They ruled over the kingdom in peace and joy for many years.

I found this version so interesting since the father was not just an invisible bystander or dead. He actually helped devise a plan to kill his own daughter. I also see so many ties to other Asian versions of the story. There is the fish which is in the Middle Eastern version, Chinese versions, Vietnamese version, and Thai version. Many of these also include the scattering of the rice with the aid of some birds. The Egyptian version has a bird that drops the slipper in the pharaoh's hands. You can see how the story has changed in different countries, but how it probably started as the same story at some point.

For more Cinderella in different culture posts:

• Abadeha:  The Philippine Cinderella
• Golden Sandals: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Tale
• The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Cinderella Tale
• Chinese Cinderella Tales
• The Korean Cinderella
• Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Tale from Korea
• Kao and the Golden Fish A Cinderella tale from Thailand
• The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Tale from Indonesia
• My Cinderella Pinterest Board

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Abadeha: the Philippine Cinderella

I am doing our Fairy Tale in Different Cultures a day early. I am hoping to have our dish from Croatia tomorrow. I hope you will come see what we make!

Continuing with our Asian-Pacific theme for May, I thought I would share another Cinderella tale this time from the Philippines. The book is Abadeha: The Philippine Cinderella adapted by Myrna J. de la Paz. Before I share the story and craft, a bit about the Philippines.

Source: Lonely Planet

The Philippines is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia. It lies in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of over 7,000 islands. The total area of the country is about 115,831 square miles making it the 64th largest country in the world. It is a constitutional republic with a presidential system. Filipino and English are the official languages however there are over 171 living languages spoken there. The capital is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon city. It is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator and as a result is prone to earthquakes and typhoons. Its rainforests and coastlines provide diverse ranges of birds, animals and plants. It has one of the highest discovery rates in the world with sixteen new species of mammals discovered in the last ten years. They have many unique species of animals as well as plants like many rare orchids and rafflesia.

In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan arrived and claimed the islands for Spain. The Spanish established Manilla as the capital city in 1571. The Spanish fought many wars with indigenous people as well as other countries for control of the Philippines. The Spanish introduced the idea of free public schooling as well as Christianity. They also brought many different types of food from the Americas like pineapple, corn, chili peppers and tomatoes. In 1898, Spain sold their rights to the United States for 20 million dollars as part of the 1898 Treaty of Paris. In 1935 the Philippines were granted Commonwealth status. During World War II the Japanese Empire invaded and took control until the Allied Forces defeated them in 1945. The Philippines became a founding member of the United Nations and the United States recognized its independence in 1946. 

Now onto our story. The story begins as many Cinderella tales do. A fisherman named Abek, his wife, Abadesa, and their beautiful daughter, Abadeha, live happily  in the islands called the Philippines. When Abadeha is thirteen her mother suddenly gets sick and dies. Abek and Abadeha are filled with sorrow. Eventually Abek marries a widow from another island who has two daughters of her own. He hopes to make a loving family for himself and Abadeha. However the stepmother immediately notice how plain and mean-spirited her daughters are in comparison to Abadeha. Abek is away from the home more since he has a larger family to support and while he is away the stepmother mistreats Abadeha making her work from morning to night cleaning the house, cooking all the meals, fetching the water from the river and tending the stove. She is often covered with soot and each night she is so tired she falls asleep on the kitchen floor. Her stepsisters began to tease her for her dirtiness. The stepmother begins to throw impossible tasks for Abadeha to do like change a black handkerchief to white and a white one to black or she will be whipped. Abadeha goes to the river crying and missing her mother. She cries out a prayer of sorts to her mother and the creator of earth. Suddenly the Spirit of the Forest appears and promises Abadeha that all of her hard work and patience will be rewarded. Then she changes the handkerchiefs for her. When Abadeha returns home, her stepmother is angry that she was able to do it. The next morning she has Abadeha spread newly harvested rice on a mat to dry and then pound the winnow and cook the rice for the evening meal. While Abadeha works in the kitchen a wild pig wanders into the yard and eats the rice while the stepmother watches. The stepmother does nothing until the pig has left and then tortures Abadeha and tells her she must mend the mat that the pig shredded.  Abadeha takes the shreds of mat to the river and says her prayer again. The Spirit of the Forest comes even quicker this time. She has female spirits quickly repair the mat and gives Abadeha a sarimanok. A sarimanok is a chicken with a long flowing tail and feathers the color of the rainbow. The stepmother is annoyed again when she sees Abadeha has completed the task. She takes the sarimanok from her and tells her she will take care of her pet for her. Early the next morning she chops off its head and feet and begins cooking it for dinner. Abadeha sees it and weeps. She grabs its feet and runs to the river. The Spirit tells her to bury the feet by her mother's grave and to pray to her ancestors. She does this and plants a garden around her mother's grave as well. It is awhile before she returns to her mother's grave and when she does she discovers a tree filled with treasures like jewelry and gowns. She grabs a few pieces of jewelry and keeps the enchanted tree to herself. 

While hunting in the forest, the son of the island chieftain saw a sarimanok. He followed it to Abadeha's secret garden. He took a ring from the tree and put it on his finger. When he returned home his finger began to swell and he could not get the ring off. He told his father about his finger and how he was in great pain. His father sent for the Babaylan, the priest healer. The Babylan told him he had to listen to his heart. That night the pain in the prince's finger was so great and he had a dream where a sarimanok brings him an orchid and when the prince kisses the flower it turns into a beautiful maiden who shows him the ring in her hand. He tells his father of the dream and his father announces that the girl who can remove the ring from his son's finger will marry his son. When Abadeha heard this announcement she asked her stepmother to go and her stepmother locked her in the kitchen and then went to take a nap. The Spirit of the Forest came and unlocked the door for her. When she arrived her stepsisters were there. They began to yell at her for being there. The prince heard the commotion and asked Abadeha to come to him. She lovingly was able to take the ring off his finger even if she was dressed in rags. The prince was overjoyed and married her. Abadeha wore the golden gown and the jewelry from the enchanted tree. Her father came home just in time for the wedding. The prince banished the stepmother and her daughters to the chicken yard. Abadeha and the prince shared their happiness and wealth with the people on the islands and lived in peace and love and harmony. 

In the author's note it is mentioned that this story is a traditional Philippine folktale that has disappeared from mainstream Philippine folk literature. With more than 300 years of Spanish colonization and a century of Americanization this is a common casualty there. She wanted to record the story before it was lost forever.

As a craft I made a paper plate sarimanok. I did it similar to the sea gulls Hazel and I made at the library a few weeks ago. I added the red comb and the tail of rainbow feathers. It is very easy.

For other Asian-Pacific Island Cinderella tales check out:

• Golden Sandals: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Tale
• The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Cinderella Tale
• Chinese Cinderella Tales
• The Korean Cinderella
• Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Tale from Korea
• Kao and the Golden Fish A Cinderella tale from Thailand
• The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Tale from Indonesia

Women in World War II

 

Today we are going to look at some of the American women who made a difference during World War II. Women's rights had progressed between the two world wars as well as progress in technology. By World War II women were pilots. Computers were introduced to the mix. And of course there were the nurses and spies. Once again my go to book is Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling. I will be sharing additional sources as well as books (mostly children's) about each of the amazing women I will share. 

The Year of the Monkey -- Exploring Chinese New Year with books & Chinese New Year Link Party

 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me copies of these book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

We have explored the lunar new year and more specifically the Chinese New Year for several years now and have tried many different crafts, recipes and books (see below for a sampling and links). We have looked at the Chinese Zodiac and as of yesterday we have begun the year of the monkey. Last year was the year of the sheep.

A Monkey Valentine Craft from a Kit

 Since we are not Chinese or any of the cultures that celebrate the lunar new year, we do not do too much for our Chinese New Year except try to learn a bit about it. This year since we have an idea of the celebration and the stories behind it we decided to take a look at Chinese stories and especially ones involving the monkey.  We started with Celebrating Chinese Festivals by Sanmu Tung.

Multicultural Books for Multicultural Monday

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

January is upon us. Wow, time has been flying. Now that the holidays are over we turn back and look at our lives. Did you make resolutions? I always find January to be bitter sweet. I enjoy the holidays and seeing everyone and they are over. We take our Christmas decorations down and the house seems empty. However as someone who loves diversity there are always more things to look forward to. Multicultural Children's Book Day is January 31st and I am co-hosting again this year. Stay tune for my official posts starting this week. The lunar new year is also approaching. I will be participating in Multicultural Kid Blogs annual blog series on January 20th to share books about China and Korea and their lunar new year celebrations. And of course Martin Luther King Day is this month. So much great stuff. Then February hits with Black History Month. Lots to look forward to. Today I thought I would share four multicultural books with you to start off our January. 

New Year Traditions from Around the World

How do you celebrate New Year's? Most of the people I know go to a party or celebrate with their family at home, but have you ever looked at what some of the traditions are from around the world? There are some interesting ones.

Exploring Cherries and Japan

Today I am going to share our exploration of cherries and the end of our exploration of Japan. At Hazel's request we have been exploring different fruit. She pulls out her magnifying glass and fruit journal and colored pencils for our exploration. We look at the outside of the fruit and record our observations and then I cut them open and we look at the inside and record our observations. Then of course we taste the fruit. We did this with the cherry.

Interesting Facts about Samurai and Himeji Castle Jigsaw Puzzle Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent this puzzle in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am going to share another 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. It is a beautiful photograph from Japan. It is the Samurai Castle and Cherry Blossoms 1,000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle. 

Review of American History: Asians in America #readyourworld

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I am sharing the first of my reviews for Multicultural Children's Book Day. Today's book shares about fourteen Asian Americans and what they achieved with their lives. The book is part of the Casey S. Bell's American History series.

All About Vietnam -- Book Review & More!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month. All month long I will try to share books, crafts, and activities to help celebrate this fun heritage. Today I get to share the newest book from one of my favorite series about Asian countries. It is All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids: Learn About Vietnamese Culture with Stories, Songs, Crafts & Games by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong. It is a middle grades reading level but can be shared with younger kids if you do the reading!

50 Animal Crafts for Little Kids - Book Review

Disclosure: I was sent a this ebook to review free of charge from Georgina Bomer. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Continuing on our theme of National Craft Month, we are reviewing another wonderful craft book, 50 Animal Crafts for Little Kids by Georgina Bomer. This book is available in now out of print.

Sharing Saturday 13-41

First an apology to all who have been following my Flamingo Fridays. My week got a bit hectic and I decided I needed a break and did not want to put out something that was not up to my quality, so I took the break. Also an apology for not getting to visit everyone's wonderful post shared last week. The ones I did visit are amazing and I am sure the others are as well. Thank you to everyone who share with us last week. We had quite a few new blogs sharing!! I hope all of you had time to be inspired by them all. This week we had a tie for most clicked.

From Living Montessori Now: Positive Use of Technology with Kids

and

From Peakle Pie: Halloween Party Bunting

Here are a few favorites from the ones I visited.

1) From A Beautiful Ruckus: Kids' Craft Fall Handprint Wreaths

2) From Doodle Buddies: Breast Cancer Ribbons Tutorial

3) From Happily Ever Mom: A Not So Scary Fairy Pumpkin House

4) From Preschool Powol Packets: Egg Carton Bats

5) From Wildflower Ramblings: What is Classical Education?


Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

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From Your Hostess:
This week we shared a Korean Cinderella, shared our mixed up stories (great for creativity and imagination growth) with Virtual Book Club for Kids, shared our exploration of Korea with Around the World in 12 Dishes, Reviewed and am giving away a copy of a Kids Yoga book that goes through the Australian Animals from A to Z, and shared our various ways of decorating pumpkins so far this year!

Our current giveaway ends Wednesday!! But more giveaways coming soon!!

Now for This Week's Party  
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the newly updated button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

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 Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest. 

MemeTales Readathon Week 6: Global Culture

The books for this week are Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina Lazo Gilmore, Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth by Joan Schoettler, Mandy and Pandy Say "Ni Hao Ma?" by Chris Lin and Mandy and Pandy Visit China by Chris Lin.

The Mandy and Pandy stories are meant to introduce the child to Chinese and have both English and Chinse in them.I will admit I am not good at pronouncing the Chinese, but I did try. Cora Cooks Pancit is about a Filipino family and cooking a favorite meal. Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth takes place in Korea. Since they were all focused in Asia, we did Asian crafts.

Multicultural Children's Book Day -- Link up!

Welcome to our 4th Multicultural Children's Book Day! Here's how to celebrate:

1. Link up your diversity book reviews
2. Win diversity book bundles at our Twitter Party tonight! We're giving away 100+ children's books from 9pm to 10pm EST. RSVP here. Use hashtag: #ReadYourWorld.
3. Get your a copy of Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children's Books for Parents and Educators. It's FREE today through January 31st!

Asian Art, Legends and our April Happenings

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

I spent a good part of the past couple of days planning for April. I am so excited with some of the things I have planned. This month we will be exploring Japan and having a Japanese Tea Party. We will be celebrating Earth Day and sharing some great books and resources for your celebrations and we will be celebrating National Princess Week with some great resources and a giveaway. We also have a school vacation in there with a short trip so expect a review on trips and are planning some visits to museums, so there will definitely be some art resources shared including our first book today: Adventures in Asian Art: An Afternoon at the Museum by Sue DiCicco with Deborah Clearwaters and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 

Fun Facts about Chinese New Year!

The lunar new year (better known as the Chinese New Year) begins next week, February 5, 2019. This year will be the Year of the Earth Pig. (Stay tuned for some facts about pigs, the year of the pig and a pig craft round-up coming soon.) I thought it would be fun to look at some fun facts about this holiday. In China and many cultures this holiday is the big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas is in America. It amazes me how I learn something new about this holiday every year as I prepare post. So read below to learn a bit about the holiday and some fun facts about it.

Valentine's Day Traditions Around the World

We are getting ready to celebrate Valentine's Day here in America. It is a day where lovers exchange cards and gifts--often flowers and candy. Families often exchange cards as well and kids exchange cards at school. But how is Valentine's Day celebrated in other countries? Here are a few different traditions.

Sharing Saturday 14-41

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and to all of you who took the time to check out what others shared! There were so many amazing ideas from math, books suggestions, recipes and just about everything Halloween. There were so many great ideas, I have had a hard time choosing which is why this Sharing Saturday is opening so late!! Our most clicked was from Dabbling Momma: Halloween Rock Garden.

Asian and English Nursery Rhyme Books

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Do you have preschoolers or even toddlers? Do you want to introduce them to other cultures but are not sure how to bring it to your home or classroom? I have to fun books that will do just that. These books will also work to help older kids become familiar with Chinese and Korean as well. Both books come with CDs so the pronounciation of the other languages can be heard and you do not have to try to figure out how it is said. Nursery rhymes have been a favorite in our house. Hazel even has a nursery rhyme quilt that I made her when she was younger and had a nursery rhyme themed birthday party when she turned three. Oh and there was the year that Hazel and I dressed as the dish and the spoon for Halloween. But today's books are different than our nursery rhymes. They give us a sense of different cultures. We will start with Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes: Little Mouse and Other Charming Chinese Rhymes by Faye-Lynn Wu and illustrated by Kieren Dutcher.