Product Description

In the Spice Islands, where clove and nutmeg trees grow,
a girl named Damura lived long ago.

Damura is a beautiful girl, as kind and lovely as the little green parrot that perches on the nutmeg tree. But Damura's stepmother and stepsister mistreat her. They force her to rise before dawn, carry out all the chores, and sleep on the floor. One day, while down by the river, Damura calls out to the creatures of the wild for help. Rising from the waters, an ancient crocodile answers the call. This unusual fairy godmother, aptly named Grandmother Crocodile, outfits Damura in a sarong of gold, with slippers to match, and sends her to the palace to dance for the prince. Once he sees her, the prince knows that she will be his bride.

But the fairy tale isn't quite over. Damura's wicked stepmother and stepsister are so jealous that they push Damura into the river, where she is swallowed by a crocodile. Too bad they didn't know about Grandmother Crocodile....

The Gift of the Crocodile, a tale from the Spice Islands in Indonesia, offers a colorful and dramatic twist on the universally adored Cinderella story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #595604 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689821882
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Setting this colorful story in the Spice Islands, Sierra (Nursery Tales Around the World) incorporates motifs found in Cinderella folktales from various parts of the world as well as elements of Diamonds and Toads-type fables. Overworked by her conniving stepmother and stepsister, Damura one day loses her tattered sarong in the river. When a crocodile responds to her pleas for help, Damura remembers her late mother's advice to treat wild creatures with respect. She talks politely with Grandmother Crocodile, who fetches for her "a silver sarong that sparkled like the night sky." Damura's deceitful stepsister soon pretends she has lost a sarong, too, in hopes of receiving an equally lovely new one, but the crocodile gives her a sarong that turns into a filthy rag swarming with leeches. Later, when the prince invites all the young women to dance for him at the palace, the crocodile produces a sarong of pure gold for Damura, plus slippers to match. A few departures from the standard Cinderella story will keep readers on their toes. Sierra's confident delivery finds its match in Ruffins's (Running the Road to ABC) primitivist acrylic art, which captures the lush vegetation, sparkling multitoned waters and the people's patterned clothing while retaining an essential calm and spareness. Strategic use of spot art and small silhouettes in addition to full-page and full-spread compositions creates a visual syncopation. Even with an abundance of available Cinderella stories, this version is memorably vivid. Ages 4-8. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-A handsome Cinderella variant from the Spice Islands. Young Damura is advised by her dying mother to be kind to all wild creatures. Later on, in an interesting twist, the girl is bribed with a doll to plead her would-be stepmother's case to her father. After the marriage, she is mistreated by the woman and her daughter. She loses her old sarong while washing laundry in the river. Hearing her sobs, a crocodile offers to retrieve it if the girl will rock her baby, and returns with a silver dress. When the greedy sister tries the same thing but is cruel to the baby and crisp with Grandmother Crocodile, she wins a leech-covered rag. Years later, when a prince seeks a bride, the stepsister wears the silver dress but Grandmother Crocodile supplies Damura with the essentials. After the prince claims his bride with a lost slipper and the two are married, the jealous stepmother and her daughter push Damura into the river where she is eaten by a crocodile. In a funny sequence, Grandmother confronts her river children and a fat crocodile is forced to cough out Damura. Ruffins's handsome acrylic paintings reflect the Indonesian love of color and pattern. Page design varies to include bordered illustrations, vignettes, and several eloquent silhouettes. Sierra's retelling is strong and fun to read aloud. A useful author's note sorts out variations in motifs across cultures. A fine addition to the groaning shelf of Cinderella stories.
Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 4-8. Set in the Spice Islands, this Indonesian version of the Cinderella story has Damura as the beautiful, ill-treated stepchild, and, instead of a fairy godmother, a river crocodile is the magical helper. Sierra tells the story with simple drama, and Ruffins' handsome acrylic illustrations on watercolor paper set the tale on a tropical island with rich colors and folk art-style figures in a vibrant theatrical design. A full folklore note discusses the sources for the story and connects the tale with other Cinderella motifs. This time, the wicked stepmother and stepsister continue to hurt Cinderella even after she has married the prince, but Grandmother Crocodile saves Damura again so the girl and her prince live for many years in great splendor and happiness. A storytelling treat. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Spice
This Indonesian version of Cinderella hails from the Moluccas, or Spice Islands--the place to which Christopher Columbus was headed when he found the New World. In 1492 they were the only place in the world where cloves grew. The earliest written version of Cinderella is from China. As the author indicates in the afterward, no one knows where the story originated. But she speculates that Cinderella may have traveled West with the spices.

Damura was a child when her mother taught her to light a fire, cook, and to tend and harvest rice. But she still loved dolls when her mother died. The lorikeet and little green parrot outside in the nutmeg tree were not company enough for her. With a new doll, a neighboring widow bribed Damura into convincing her father to marry her. Her stepmother's two daughters were kind at first, but soon made Damura their servant. She cried at night that she had traded her happiness for a doll.

One day as she washed the family's clothes, she lost her sarong in the river. She called to the creatures of the wild for help, and a crocodile appeared. "Good morning Grandmother," she said to the crocodile.

The crocodile gave Damura her baby to care for, and returned with a silver sarong that sparkled like the night sky. She told Damura to take it and come to the river again if she ever needed anything.

Her stepsisters were naturally jealous of the sarong. But when they tried to entice the crocodile to help them, she saw through their façade. A year later, the village buzzed with excitement as the prince planned to hold a dance to choose his bride. Damura asked her stepmother if she might go, wearing her silver sarong. Of course her stepmother refused her.

The rest of this tale is very similar to that of Cinderella. But to find the unique ways in which it sparkles, you'll have to read this book. Alyssa A. Lappen

A fresh new spin on the cinderella stry
I Have never read such an interesting version of the cinderella story, i recomend that every one with children or who know those who have them buy this book and save it. It will provide pleasure to generations to come

A review of The Gift of the Crocodile
This version of the Cinderella fairytale comes from the Spice Islands. Damura's mother teaches her traditional dances and to respect the animals. When she dies, Damura is tricked into convincing her father to marry another woman in the village, who soon turns on Damura, treating her as a slave for herself and her daughter. When Damura is doing laundry at the river, she loses her old sarong, but Grandmother Crocodile gives her another made of silver. The stepsister tries to repeat Damura's success, but after spanking a baby crocodile and being short with Grandmother Crocodile, she is given a ragged sarong covered in leeches. When the prince holds a ball to choose a bride, the stepmother and stepsister leave Damura at home, stealing her silver sarong. However, Grandmother Crocodile once again gifts the girl with a beautiful sarong, made out of gold, and matching slippers.

Like other Cinderella stories, she loses a slipper at the ball, but the prince uses it to track Damura down. Unlike most other versions, Damura's story continues, as her stepmother and stepsister apologize, wishing to be friends. They take her on a boat ride, but then toss her overboard, where a crocodile eats her. When the prince tells Grandmother Crocodile of what happened, she gathers the other reptiles around her and forces the guilty croc to spit her out. Grandmother Crocodile brings Damura back to life and promises her and her children protection forever.

Fans of the Cinderella story will enjoy this Indonesian version. Sierra's writing is clever and humorous, but also echoes the traditional narration style. The varying details in this story will keep readers fascinated. The author's note at the end of the book explains the different influences used in her story, including a short history of the Cinderella story itself. Ruffins' artwork is bold, mixing bright acrylic paints with miniature silhouettes. The illustrations vary between wide, two-page spread landscapes to intense close-ups of characters. The trees, rivers, and figures flow and weave together and evoke the landscape of the story.