The Goat-Faced Girl

A Classic Italian Folktale

By Sharpe, Leah Marinsky & Marinsky, Jane

Publishers Summary:
Like many good fables, this story opens with a found-ling left rather inconveniently, if not surprisingly in the woods. A large lizard, ever conscious of tripping hazards, picks up the infant and takes her home, where she soon grows into a pretty, pampered, and generally useless young woman named Isabella. Despite her adoptive mother's efforts (for the lizard is really a witch in disguise) to shape her up, the girl prefers the alluring life offered her by the charming Prince Rupert, a world of cooks and servants, palaces and jewels, luxury and indolence. Luckily, the lizard woman is a canny, concerned parent. She does not suffer fools lightly and is not about to let her daughter's too-easy transition to palace life go unchallenged. And so she arranges a surprise transformation for her daughter one that puts the prince's marital plans on hold and gives the witch just enough time to hammer home a few lessons about the downside of idleness, the inanity of vanity, and the satisfactions of self-reliance. In this witty, modern interpretation of a classic Italian folktale, Leah Marinsky Sharpe has crafted a light-hearted mother-daughter fable with a moral that is sure to strike a chord with readers of all ages. The illustrations by Jane Marinsky glow with rich color and playful humor. Together, words and pictures provide a zesty treat for parents and children alike.

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ISBN
978-1-56792-393-3
Publisher
David R Godine


REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Reviewed on January 1, 2010

Gr 2-4 This story is based on an Italian folktale by the same name, which can be found in Andrew Lang's "The Grey Fairy Book" (Kessinger, 2004). In a forest where foundlings appear every third Thursday, a large lizard discovers a baby girl. Transforming herself into a beautiful woman in a hooded garment with the same markings as her lizard skin, she raises the child as her own. Isabella grows into a very beautiful, very lazy young woman and falls in lov...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Guide

Reviewed on January 1, 2009

Disgusted by her daughter's laziness and vanity, a sorceress gives her the face of a goat--unbeknownst ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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