Traditional or Folk Literature

Domitila

Adapted by Jewell Reinhart Coburn

Domitila is a Cinderella tale from the Mexican tradition. First off, I think it is important to point out how beautiful the pictures are in the book. They are so detailed and lovely; I must say Connie McLennan, the illustrator, did a fabulous job! Domitila is not like the traditional Cinderella I am used to, there is not a glass slipper or a fairy godmother. Domitila’s “prince charming” is a politician’s son. At the beginning of the story he is a conceited character who eventually transforms into a mature, kind, family man. He finds love with Domitila when he is finally reunited with her after searching for her and smelling her delicious nopales from the Fall Fiesta. I like this version of Cinderella because it is more about the politician’s son’s transformation and finding himself than anything else. He is just lucky enough to find love with Domitila, a kindhearted, hardworking girl. I think in order to integrate technology in the classroom with this book students could create a podcast about their favorite part of the book. Once every student has created a podcast one student could compile all of them together and have the whole class share and listen to each others podcasts.