Book Review - RAPUNZEL

Rapunzel adapted by Paul O. Zelinsky
Ages: K-5th grade

The Brothers Grimm tale has been told and retold throughout time. We've all heard at least a few versions and this one, isn't my favorite.

Zelinsky's telling of the story is the marriage of the Brothers Grimm's version and earlier folklore. It tells the story of parents who promise their daughter to a sorceress after the father is caught stealing rapunzel (a vegetable) from the sorceress's garden. The sorceress raises the girl, then at the age of 12, locks her in a tower. As the story goes, when the sorceress came to visit Rapunzel she would announce, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair" after which the girl would send down her cascading locks and the witch would hoist herself up to the window (OUCH!). One day, a prince hears Rapunzel singing and falls in love, and he too prompts Rapunzel to send down her hair. They fall in love, secretly get married and Rapunzel becomes pregnant. When the sorceress discovers her adopted daughter is with child she banishes her to the wilderness. Eventually the prince finds her and they live happily ever after.

I can't quite put my finger on what specifically I don't love about this story. Maybe it's that I read it to my four year old, and I thought the story was a little suggestive and dark for a child. Sure, the ending is happy, but it's not that sparkly, magical "...and they lived happily ever after" type of happy. You got me? The Little Lady Librarian says she likes the book. But, she hasn't asked me to read it more than a handful of times since we borrowed it from the library. And that's saying something. If she really loves a library book, she takes full advantage of our borrowing period and will read and re-read a book until she has it close to memorized. Or until I hide it for a few days to give my brain a break (Fancy Nancy, anyone?).

Zelinsky does double-duty on this book and illustrates as well. The paintings are lovely, really lovely. As a matter of fact, they won Zelinsky a Caldecott Medal in 1998. The LLL really enjoyed looking at them. Me, eh, they're not my style for a children's book.

So, all in all. If you're looking for Rapunzel, I'd say look elsewhere. There are plenty of options out there that I'm sure are much more appropriate to read with your little librarian.

If you're reading this book with an older child (or, if they're reading it on their own) I did come across these lesson ideas from Zelinsky's wife, who happens to be a teacher.