Moss Gown

by William H. Hooks, Donald Carrick (Illustrator)

Candace finds herself cast out of her home by jealous older sisters, but with the help of a witch woman and a magical moss gown, she captures the heart of the young plantation owner.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Cinderella, Childrens, Fantasy, Folklore, Middle Grade

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

About the author

Director of Publications at Bank Street College of Education

He collects folklore and lives in New York City

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the beginning, I'd been thinking that this story read like a crossover of Shakespeare's King Lear and Perrault's Cinderella, so when I arrived to the authorial notes by the end, it was no surprise to have my impressions confirmed. It makes for a nice Southern version, adding elements that'd be more familiar to people from that part of the US, such as the magical gown made of moss and the swamp "witch" in place of the fairy godmother, as well as the setting of a plantation and its landowner as the "prince."

I think that, in general, I tend to like retellings of this tale that diverge the most from the original when it comes to characterising the Cinder-girl, which in Perrault's tale is rather vapid and shallowly drawn even for a fairy tale heroine, so Candace, the heroine in The Moss Gown, was more to my liking as well. The last part with her father is touching, more redemptive for the old man & his daughter than in Shakespeare.

[Set · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the Cinderella southern story and the illustrations perfectly reflect those lazy southern days in the old plantation. But I can safely safe since I've been to every Southern Plantation in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, that the portrayal of the Moss Gown girl is not the average in the old South. When you go to these locations, you will find that people were mostly brunette and if you think it's because of the black and white pictures, I can assure you that there are loads of Victorian hair art (hairwork) to say the contrary. Anyway, you can tell who is brunette and who is blonde in those pictures. A lot of colorized pictures are giving people light hair but it's incorrect.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

As noted on the dust-jacket blurb, elements of King Lear and Cinderella meet in this Southern folktale, which was told to William H. Hooks as a child in North Carolina. When Candace's elderly and infirm father asks each of his daughters to describe how she loves him, her answer - that she loves him "as meat loves salt" - displeases him, and he disinherits her. Forced to leave her home, Candace is aided by a green-eyed, black gris-gris woman (a witch), who gives her a moss gown that appears to be ragged and torn, during the day, and enchantingly beautiful at night. Taking work in the kitchen of a nearby plantation, Candace eventually uses the gown to attend a three-day ball, where she wins the heart of the Young Master. Moss Gown finds love, but will Candace ever find rapprochement with her father...?

The author's note at the rear mentions the Appalachian variant of this story (Rush Cape), and discusses its English origin. The tale Cap O'Rushes - an example of tale type 510B in the Aarne-Thompson folklore classfication system, the "Unnatural Love" type - can be found in Joseph Jacobs' English Fairy Tales , and is clearly the forerunner of this American version. It's interesting to see how the story has been adapted for a southern American setting: the heroine's gown is made of Spanish Moss, there is a gris-gris woman, and so on. The story itself is engrossing - highly entertaining, with a very satisfactory ending - and the illustrations are lovely. Beautiful, but with a "mossy" feeling to them (perhaps because of the muted color scheme?). Highly recommended to all readers who enjoy beautifully illustrated fairy-tales!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely folklore development of the themes and stories of Cinderella and of King Lear as brought to and blended in southeastern No. America. Some of us have read the slightly different regional variant, Rush Cape.

Hooks' text longish, but graceful and clear. Told with the right amount of detail; I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to children age 7 up.

Carrick's art a bit like Trina Schart Hyman but more painterly: successful and appealing.

Full page author's note helpful.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a variant of the "Love like Salt" fairytale theme (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/salt.html) as seen in Cap O' Rushes, more seen by Americans in the tragic version of King Lear. As a variant on Cap O' Rushes it's well-told, and I don't doubt that it's true to the origins of this variant in the Carolinas. And that's where it goes off the rails. When the rich white man turns his back on his youngest daughter for saying "I love you like meat loves salt," who rescues her? An African-american
'gris-gris woman' who goes on to serve her needs and fetch and carry for her. When Moss Gown goes to work in another house, she works with an all-black staff, who appear to treat her as a pet, too.
I can't get past that. Yes, it's in the story, but is that a variant of the story that needs to be told in a picture book?

[A. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my favorite fairy tale. And I love this version of it! Such a great blend of Cinderella and King Lear! I really enjoyed doing different voices while reading this, and the illustrations were beautiful, looking so much like my native LA, even though the author said the story is from North Carolina.

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea here is to blend the fairy tales of the Old World with the setting of the New World, an idea I have seen executed quite well in several fairy tale retellings.

However, it does not work here. Its feels forced to plop King Lear / Cap-of-Rushes onto a plantation setting, as well as extremely problematic. It’s like a re-write of Gone with the Wind casting Scarlet as Boudicca.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations by Donald Carrick bring such beauty to this Cinderella-esque retelling of an old southern folk story. Cast away by devious older sisters and her reluctant father, our Moss happens unto a gris-gris woman near a swamp and is transformed back into her natural beauty, fetching a new life, new mansion and reclaiming her misguided father.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boyo loved this one. The pictures are gorgeous, and the story is intriguing even for a wee one.

[Jamie]

This is a very sweet rendition of the classic Cinderella story. It tells of a sick father who has three daughters. When he asks them how much they love him the older two daughters say they love him as much as diamonds and gold. All material things. When the youngest daughter Candace is asked she says "I love you more than salt loves meat". Not understanding what she means by this, the father is hurt. He gives all his land to the older daughters and they have Candace banished from the property. Candace meets a witch woman in the swamp. She gives her a beautiful dress made of moss and rags and says anytime she needs her to say gris gris gris gris grine and she will be there for her.
Candace then makes her way to a house near the swamp. It is a home of very wealthy poeple and she becomes a servant there. Later on the young man of the house holds a ball and Candace goes wearing her beautiful moss dress and they fall in love. Finally, she reveals to him that it is her and they are married. At the wedding, the witch woman from the swamp brings her father. He is invited to a dinner in the home and she prepares food for him with no salt. He then remembers her and he is sorry for he now understands what she had said to him about her love for him.
This is a great story that teaches of kindness and understanding.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooks explains in his author's note that this traditional southern US tale is a little bit Cinderella and a little bit King Lear. The lovely ink and watercolor paintings by Donald Carrick seem to place this tale before the Civil War, and before the time when hoop skirts became fashionable. The beautiful, sparse prose tells of Candace, the youngest of three daughters, who tells her elderly father that she loves him more than meat loves salt. Not understanding the truth of her words, her father gives his land to the less-deserving daughters, who turn Candace out of the house. In the swamp, Candace meets a strange witch woman who bestows on her a moss gown. After Candace goes to work as a kitchen maid in a large plantation house, the master holds three grand balls. Candace is only able to attend because the witch woman changes the moss gown into a beautiful ball gown. Naturally, the young master falls in love with the mysterious girl. Eventually, Candace and the master are wed and Candace is reconciled to her father. Young romantics will find much to love in this marvelous book.

[Charlotte Osborn-bensaada · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author William Hooks explains that the story is based on stories from the tidewater section of eastern North Carolina. The story itself is an interesting combination of King Lear and Cinderella. according to the author this stems from the early English roots in this area. While I found elements of it dated, the happy black servants in the big plantation house, it was interesting to think about how the Shakespeare's King Lear is really one of many folktales.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting hybrid of King Lear and Cinderella set in the South. The illustrations are very evocative of the mood of the book. I like how the text is arranged according to phrases rather than a straight block of prose.

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[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moss Gown = King Lear + Cinderella + Cajun magic + the South. If this story were a language it would be Afrikaans: European roots, other-continental fruits.

[Meredith Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is very similar to one of my favorite Cinderella variations, (the Scottish tale "Cap O' Rushes"). I absolutely loved that this one was set in the rural South. Also, instead of the simple love story between a prince and princess, this story is more concerned with familial love and reconciliation. "I love you more than meat loves salt". What a lovely sentiment. A pity that the father is too dimwitted to understand this! The story reminded me a bit of King Lear as well. Excellent and thoroughly recommended.
God bless you all.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magical mixture of King Lear and Cinderella, "Moss Gown" is both fairy tale and folktale from colonial America. This telling assumes the reader has some knowledge of the South and its culture, which may make it harder to follow for younger readers. I also assume from the illustrations that this story takes place on a plantation while slavery was still legal, making the tale a little uncomfortable as slavery is not addressed.

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I'm a little biased on this book just because the illustrations of the clothing are historically accurate and I really appreciate that. So that bumped it up to a 4 star for me. Otherwise the illustrations themselves would have only rated a three. The story is solidly good, but isn't my favorite version of this fairy tale.

[Kae · Rating 3 out of 5]

An American version of the Cinderella story set in the Old South, there are of course racist undertones. Aside from that, it's an interesting take on the old tropes. Ultimately, I think this is a story people should read in order to better understand how prejudice is a systemic part of our world and that even the small things matter.

[Aurelia Lovelace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, I love this! I’ve been reading lots of children’s Cinderella books, and some of them tend to be a little too similar to each other, but not this! No, this retelling was entirely unique and it was so refreshing to read it. The illustrations were beautiful, the characters were lovely and the story was very enjoyable. Such a cute story.

[GardeniaPearl]

The story was well told, but the pictures made it quite clear that black people were the servants and the white people were wealthy and that made it an uncomfortable read. While it never came out and said the black people were enslaved, well, this story is set on a plantation in the South, so it's hard not to conclude that they were. I won't be sharing this with anyone.

[Kelley Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid addition to your Cinderella collection. Set in the antebellum south on a plantation, there are lots of cooks and servants who are black. My one caution would be that they are called cooks and servants, not slaves. A good story, but a bit of a whitewash.

[Icarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not gonna lie, I picked up this book in a pack of gardening books. It's a cute fable, but I was definitely surprised when the book was in fact not "Moss Grown" a book about growing your own yard moss.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my absolute favorite books as a child. It is a beautiful retelling of Cinderella.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another version of my favorite fairy tale —-a southern Cinderella

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cinderella story that comes the plantations of North Carolina.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I liked the King Lear and Cinderella aspects, this narrative came off stale and parts of it didn't age well. I wish the tidewater retelling had been more fresh and vivid.

[Chrisanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Lear + Cinderella + Appalachia= Moss Gown.
Whimsical illustrations and desperately in need of a Pixar adaptation.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art!

[Neketa Nation · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I love you like meat loves salt... "

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good read.