Moss Gown

This is a beautiful children's storybook that combines the age-old Cinderella fairy tale with the play "King Lear" (giving Shakespeare's tragedy a happy ending), and sets it in the colonial South. The tale is one that evolved among American colonists and has been passed down through the generations in various forms. Author William H. Hooks has set it down here in a delightful format. An old man, trying to decide how he should split his property among his three daughters, asks them each how much they love him. The two eldest flatter him with false protestations of love, while the youngest says simply: "I love you more than meat loves salt" (pg. 11). Thinking that his youngest loves him no more than common salt, the father splits his lands between the other two, who promtply turn her out of the house. While fleeing through the woods, the girl meets a green-eyed black woman who gives her a magical dress made of leaves and moss, which turns into a beautiful gown at night. Moss Gown, as she decides to call herself, then finds work as a kitchen maid in the home of a young gentleman. She is ridiculed by the other help for her shabby dress, but when the gentleman throws a special ball, Moss Gown shows up in the beautiful dress and dazzles them all. No one recognizes her, and she slips away as the night ends and the dress turns back to moss. The gentleman, who has fallen quite in love with the mysterious girl, pines for her and is absolutely determined to track her down. Though I suspect you can guess the outcome, I'll leave you to discover it yourself. This book would be great to read aloud to children, but is also written simply enough for them to read for themselves. Each page is attractively illustrated as well, and at the end the author has included a note on the origins of the story. I have enjoyed this book since I was a child, and would highly recommend it.

This book is very good. It reveals emotions as well as patienc

This tale is an excellent tale made in the Cinderella fashion with a Shakespearean twist. It would be a great book to get youth interested in the play King Lear.