Rumpelstiltskin

Rating:
Summary: The most technically correct spinning wheel in kiddie lit
Review: A rare book. Zelinsky tells the story of "Rumpelstiltskin", evoking a story most American children will know. Especially impressive is his tiny details. A good example of this is his spinning wheel. Many illustrated Rumpelstiltskin stories show the spinning wheel as something that Rumpelstiltskin throws straw towards, causing golden coins appear. In this edition the spinning wheel is technically correct. The miller's daughter is given empty bobbins, onto which Rumpelstiltskin spins golden threads. Zelinsky's accomplished paintings show the golden bobbins gleaming, one on top of another. The portrayal of Rumpelstiltskin himself was described in one review I read as "Rackhamesque". I don't know if this was the illustrator's intent, but he certain does seem culled from a classic European fairy tale book from the early twentieth (or even nineteenth) century. The oil paintings look Southern European, and though a story with an odd moral (if you can outwit your opponent by cheating, you're in the clear) it is an excellent book for children. Like its companion book, "Rapunzel", this too would be a promising book for storytelling.

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Summary: Beautiful, Complicated Tale with Magnificent Illustrations
Review: As previous reviews have noted, the illustrations are exquisite and quite out of the ordinary; instantly captivating and magical at first glance. My daughter is 3 and 1/2 and is riveted by the book. I feel confused at how strongly some of the readers feel about the book's "message." Yes, many of the characters are "bad" and it is morally ambiguous, but the sheer flight of fancy and imagination captured by the tale has intrigued and fascinated readers and listeners since the early 1800's. It's like a child's version of a scary movie without the macabre details, and even though Rumpelstiltskin himself is ugly and frightening even though he is actually "saving" the queen, the book and story's power coem from the fact that he is such an unusual character; not whether he is good or bad. Furthermore, the additional magical ideas of straw into gold, being locked up in a castle, servants running off in the middle of the night, and a little elfen man riding around on a spoon are bizarre and fanciful and elements like these fill much of the fairy tale genre for centuries. I say, get over the p.c. messages and concetrate on the fantasy and magic of the story that is so compelling to readers, especially with Zelinsky's magnificent pictures. Life is complicated, and so is the story - it doesn't try to answer all the questions and make everybody good/bad/punished/redeemed. That is not the point of this particular story. If you only want a story with a moral, it's true that this is not the book for you. If creative ideas and concepts that you could never think of yourself are what your looking for in a book, then it is the book for you!

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful presentation of a famous tale.
Review: This is a retelling of the famous children's "fairy" tale, first presented by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 19th century. A young mother has to guess a gnome's name (he had been spinning straw into gold for her) in order to prevent him from taking her new-born babe. This book was a 1987 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children. Paul Zelinsky did considerable research to follow the original version of the tale and his art reflects the time period of the story. It is a beautiful book.

Rating:
Summary: A Confusing Grimm Brothers Tale with Beautiful Illustrations
Review: This version of Rumpelstiltskin is based on the second edition of the Grimms' work in 1819, with some language from later versions and a few additions by Mr. Zelinsky. All of this is detailed in the author's note at the end of the book. The high points here are the matchless, detailed illustrations that mimic oil paintings in delicate, detailed pastels. These images create a majesty and power that add to the mystery of this most powerful story. This version will leave some unsatisfied for the apparent foolishness of the miller and the needless cruelty of the king.

The miller visits the king and brags that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The king sends for her, and bids her to do this overnight, or be killed the following morning. She is locked up with a spinning wheel and straw. She weeps in despair because she has no idea of how to do that . . . until a little man comes in and offers to help. She trades her necklace for his aid, and soon the straw becomes golden bobbins of thread. The king likes this and demands that she do it again the next night. The little man again offers to help. She trades her ring this time for his assistance. The king then comes and says she must do it a third time or die. If she succeeds, he will marry her. With nothing left to pay the little man, she has to agree to his request for her first born child. After the child is born, the little man returns for his reward. She persuades him to give her three days to guess his name. If she succeeds, she does not have to give up her child. A servant follows him into the woods and hears him say, "Rumpelstiltskin is my name." The queen "guesses" correctly and he rides off on a spoon never to be heard from again.

This story always bothered me when I was a child. Why were the men all so unreasonable? I still find myself feeling that way 50 years later. I avoided reading this story to my children when they were little. I didn't think it had the redeeming values of most folk talkes.

The reason for reading this book is to enjoy the illustrations, so I recommend that you get it for yourself (rather than for your child) if you liked the story as a youngster. If you didn't like the story, even the illustrations won't save it for you.

The book won a Caldecott Honor for its illustrations.

After you finish reading the book or thinking about the story (if you don't read it), I suggest you consider your own conduct to locate any places where you make promises or say things that create problems for others. Be sure you aren't acting like the miller.

Act honorably, and inspire that in others!

Rating:
Summary: Zelinsky brings depth and beauty to a frightening fairy tale
Review: When I was a child I remember being frightened by the story of Rumpelstiltskin. A miller's daughter is ordered to spin straw into gold or the king will have her executed. An odd little man appears and offers to help her in exchange for her first born child. Finally, she makes a deal: she will be able to keep her child if she can guess the little man's name. Through stealth, she does so, and the angry little man flies away on a cooking spoon. All fairy tales have an odd element to them, but this one was so bizarre it was scary. And every character in it is despicable, including the greedy king, who the miller's daughter marries (was that supposed to be a happy ending?).

Paul Zelinsky hasn't altered a single detail of the odd story, but his illustrations, based on Italian Renaissance oil paintings, make the tale clearer and far less frightening. His control of gesture and facial expression is marvelous, and as you watch the miller's daughter's face change from innocence to wariness to fear for her child, to intelligent calculation, and finally to triumph, it is obvious that this is a story of a young woman making her way from complete innocence, where she is at the mercy of others, to an intelligent (if crafty) control of her own life. The best picture in the book is the final one: the miller's daughter, now queen, looks down on her baby with love, while the greedy king stands looking on, a little dumbfounded, a little awed. There may be hope for this relationship after all.

This is a book my daughter asks me to read over and over, and I'm more than happy to do so.