Set in the rural South in the early years of World War II, Ashpet is a humorously touching version of Cinderella, the world's most popular folktale. A resourceful and beautiful girl (Ashpet) is the lackey in the messy parvenu household of her weak stepmother and slothful, mean stepsisters. On the day of the Victory Dance, Ashpet is sent to the conjure-woman "Dark Sally" to fetch "love sachets" for her boy-crazy stepsisters. Sally reveals the secrets of Ashpet's heritage -- "your real name is Lily" -- and arranges for the newly confident girl to "sparkle like a lightening bug" at the dance. Eventually, the step-family gets its comeuppance and the independent Ashpet gets her man and the house, too.

Set in the rural South in the early years of World War II, Ashpet is a version of Cinderella, the world’s most popular folk tale.

There are a lot of mysteries in life, but certainly one of the greatest is why every video store and library in American doesn't have copies of Tom Davenport's From the Brothers Grimm fairy tale series. Ashpet, the ninth in a series that has won more awards than Grandma Moses has children, is a live-action rural retelling of the Cinderella story....Ashpet is a wonderful change of pace from the steady drizzle of insipid cartoon remakes of Cinderella. A top-notch production in all respects, (it) has the additional benefit of teaching kids an important lesson: just as it is the clever soul who is well-versed in the diverse ways of removing a skin from a cat, it is the well-rounded child who understands that there are many different ways to tell a story. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice.

 

Ashpet by Tom Davenport
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