"Cinderella" is just a fairy tale, right?

Yes, it's a fairy tale, but each variation has been read through hundreds of times, often with the intention of teaching morals to children.

Do we want to teach our children forgiveness and kindness above all? If so, we read Perrault's version. But, if we want to teach our kids about independence and self reliance, it's time to move towards new publications such as Cinderella Liberator by Rebecca Solnit.

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If we want to teach kids about the international variations of the story we can look no farther than our library shelves. Ai-Ling Louie's Yeh-Shen : a Cinderella Story from China and other books such as Rebecca Hickox's The Golden Sandal : a Middle Eastern Cinderella story serve as great examples of introductions to international variations.

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These stories should be of special interest because of their global impact. Anywhere you travel, people are bound to have heard of Cinderella, and as we see in many tales, it's the common themes and narratives that make people relate and connect. We see just how similar we are as humans, but how special and diverse we each are.

Adeline Yen Mah identifies as a young Cinderella eventually finding her way after years under her abusive stepmother. This is a revised version of her memoir, Falling Leaves.

A telling of the Chinese Cinderella tale by Ai-Ling Louie.

A retelling by Rebecca Solnit, here we see a focus on friends, youth, and kindness.

An Egyptian variation of the tale told by Shirley Climo and illustrated by Ruth Heller

The Golden Sandel actually features a Cinderella who desires for her father to marry the soon-to-be evil Stepmother. This Middle Eastern Version is told by Rebecca Hickox.