The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin is Cinderella story based on an Algonquin Native American folktale. The story follows a Native American girl who has facial scars due to the job given by her sisters to feed the fire. The fire would hit her arms, legs, clothes, and face, causing her to have scars all over her body. She was too afraid and embarrassed to leave her wigwam. Until one day she and her sisters hear a story about a wealthy and powerful Invisible Being. Rumor has it that he is looking for a wife, but the only requirement is to see him first. Her two sisters attempt to propose, but they fail because they didn’t know what his bow and sled runner was of. They went back home disappointed. The Rough Face builds up the courage to visit the Invisible Man, with the intentions to marry him. The village people laugh at her as she walks to the giant wigwam across the village. Without any doubt, she tells the Invisible Being sister …show more content…
The Rough Face Girl is a great book to use for a unit about bullying. This book connects to The Sign of the Beaver because it is an Algonquin tale which would be orally passed down in villages like the one Attean lived in. Oral traditions were an important factor of Native American cultures. Through the illustrations of David Shannon, the readers are able to reflect on native culture. This gives the reader insight on the customs and traditions of Native Americans while keeping their cultures and lifestyle intact. This book beautifully reveals Native American beliefs. For my lesson, I want my students to compare the classic Cinderella story to the story of the Rough Face Girl. While they are using the Venn diagram to organize their ideas, I want my students to keep in mind the four major literary elements (plot, setting, theme, and characterization) they have recently learned