"This variation of Cinderella, adapted from Filipino folklore, bursts forth with illustrations that take on a rainbow-like effect. The story features Abadeha, whose widowed father has recently remarried a selfish woman with daughters of her own. When her stepmother taunts her with impossible tasks, like washing two handkerchiefs until the black one turns white and the white one turns black, Abadeha calls on her mother and other spirits. The Spirit of the Forest solves her problems and gives the girl a sarimanok, a chicken with beautiful feathers. Like the Chinese Yeh-Shen and her magical fish, Abadeha loses her chicken to her stepmother, who cooks it for dinner, and is told by the Spirit to bury the chicken's feet at her mother's grave. A tree full of jewels and treasures grows at the site and is discovered by the son of the island chieftain, who picks a ring from the tree. But when the young man cannot remove the ring and has a dream of a maiden who came, he searches every house for the girl who can remove the ring and vows to make her his wife."
Reviews: August 2008 Archives
"This variation of Cinderella, adapted from Filipino folklore, bursts forth with illustrations that take on a rainbow-like effect. The story features Abadeha, whose widowed father has recently remarried a selfish woman with daughters of her own. When her stepmother taunts her with impossible tasks, like washing two handkerchiefs until the black one turns white and the white one turns black, Abadeha calls on her mother and other spirits. The Spirit of the Forest solves her problems and gives the girl a sarimanok, a chicken with beautiful feathers. Like the Chinese Yeh-Shen and her magical fish, Abadeha loses her chicken to her stepmother, who cooks it for dinner, and is told by the Spirit to bury the chicken's feet at her mother's grave. A tree full of jewels and treasures grows at the site and is discovered by the son of the island chieftain, who picks a ring from the tree. But when the young man cannot remove the ring and has a dream of a maiden who came, he searches every house for the girl who can remove the ring and vows to make her his wife."
"Abadeha is a full-color storybook with an exotic take on a classic fairy tale. Set in the sunny Philippines, it is written to delight young readers with a Filipino native legend based on the Cinderella theme. As the young heroine Abadeha seeks help from the magical Spirit of the Forest, the reader is immersed in a lush natural world. With regional beliefs and practices, native flora, fauna, and even some Filipino linguistic terms, Abadeha turns the familiar into the fantastic."
"We
all know this fairy tale plot, but it is delightful to find it is told
in other cultures. For children from ages 8-12 they will enjoy this
aged golden tale as it is told in the Philippines. The young girl who
has lost her mother and now lives with a mean-spirited stepmother and
selfish stepsisters. Her name is Abadeha and she finds solace from the
magical Spirit of the Forest. There is a Prince in this story too, who
finds himself bound by a magic ring that can only be removed by one
girl.
Throughout the book the author teaches us about local religious beliefs
and practices, native flora, and linguistic terms. The delighted reader
will begin to understand daily life in the Philippines as it would have
been more than four hundred years ago. Artist Youshang Tang's lovely
color illustration complement this tale. Shen's Books are always
unique, even if they produce many other country's stories that rework
Cinderella themes imbued with many cultures."
"...bursts forth with illustrations that take on a rainbow-like effect."
-MultiCultural ReviewMyrna de la Paz was born in Manila, Philippines, and grew up in a town where indigenous culture and spiritual beliefs are practiced parallel with Christianity. She later shared this world of magic and myth when she wrote and directed Bakunawa, a play based on the Bagobo people. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
Youshan Tang's artistic promise began to show when he was a child in Shanghai, China. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Beijing University with degrees in Chinese art and literature. Since 1980, Tang has made his home in San Francisco where the cultural diversity inspires his work. This is the third book he has illustrated for Shen’s.
Shen’s Books is a publisher of multicultural children’s literature that emphasizes cultural diversity and tolerance, with a focus on introducing children to the cultures of Asia.
Through books, we can share a world a stories, building greater understanding and tolerance within our increasingly diverse communities as well as throughout our continuously shrinking globe.

















