Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

“Cinderella”

• A short fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers for use in Activity 1
• Discuss characters and their situations and motivations
• “Cinderella” on SuperSummary

The Joy Luck Club

• A novel by Amy Tan
• Explores the deep connection between mothers and daughters in an Asian immigrant household
• The Joy Luck Club on SuperSummary

PRINCESS: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

• A biography by Jean Sasson
• Displays similar themes of Gender Hierarchies and the Female Struggle in another culture

Angela’s Ashes

• A memoir by Frank McCourt
• A staple of the memoir genre centered on an Irish immigrant in Brooklyn with an unhappy childhood
• Angela’s Ashes on SuperSummary

The Liars’ Club

• A biography by Mary Karr
• Provides an American example of the memoir genre dealing with an unhappy childhood in Texas
• The Liars’ Club on SuperSummary