Rumpelstiltskin

Rumpelstiltskin - Retold and illustrated from the German of the Brothers Grimm by Paul O. Zelinsky


 * Summary:** In Rumpelstiltskin, Paul Zelinsky retells the famous tale by the Brothers Grimm. In the story, a poor miller gets a chance to speak with the King, and in order to make himself seem more important and impress the King, he lies and tells the King that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The King orders that the miller's daughter be brought to him the following day. The young girl is then locked in a room full of straw with a spinning wheel and told that if she doesn't spin the straw into gold by morning, she will be put to death. During the night, a strange little man enters her room and agrees to spin all the straw into gold in exchange for her necklace. The next day the King is impressed, but orders the girl into a bigger room filled with even more straw. He gives her the same order as he did the previous night! Once again, the mysterious little man enters her chamber during the night. This time, the girl offers "the ring on her finger" in exchange for the tiny man's services. The following morning, the King takes the girl to a still larger room with even more straw. He tells her that if she can succeed again, he will make her his wife. When the girl is alone for the third time, the tiny man comes in yet again, but this time the girl has nothing left to give to him. Instead, she agrees that if she ever becomes Queen, she will give him her first child. He then spins all the straw into gold for a third time. The next day, the King marries the girl, and the miller's daughter becomes a Queen. A year later, she has her first child, and suddenly the little man appears and asks for what he had been promised. Horrified, the Queen begins to cry and sob...as a result the tiny man feels pity for her and decides to strike a deal with her. If she can figure out his name within three days time, then she can keep her child. The Queen thinks of all the names she has ever heard, and even sends out messengers to scour the countryside, but after two days she can not figure out the name. Finally, on the third day, a messenger spots the little man celebrating his victory prematurely and singing his name aloud "Rumpelstiltskin." When the Queen speaks his name to the little man, he tears himself in two, in a fit of rage.

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 * Review:** What makes this picture book really come alive are the incredible pictures included in it. Paul Zelinsky chose to illustrate this book with large pictures, painted in a Renaissance style using oil paints layered over watercolor under-paintings. The pictures are extraordinary. They contain so much detail, and the characters are so expressive that it is the illustrations that dominate this edition of the tale. In fact, there is very little text on each page. The paintings also do a tremendous job of capturing the setting, in this case, a medieval setting that is both frightening and beautiful. I think that the story of Rumpelstiltskin is so imaginative and magical that it was a perfect match to pair such an original piece of fiction with pictures from such an immensely talented visual artist.


 * Analysis of Literary Elements:** ​The two dominant themes in this story are greed and power. The King exercises his power over the girl by imprisoning her against her will under the threat of death, while the little man who comes to her aid is motivated by greed. He takes no pity on her, rather he spins the straw into gold only in exchange for her material items...until she has none left to give, at which point he asks for her unborn child. The plot also contains the classic rags-to-riches storyline. Finally, there is a good vs evil element to this tale. The beautiful daughter represents good, while Rumpelstiltskin, the father, and even the King represent different degrees of evil.


 * Author Biography:** Paul Zelinsky was born in Wilmette, IL. He attended Yale University and even took a class there that was co-taught by Maurice Sendak, the author of //Where The Wild Things Are//. It was this class that inspired Paul to shift from compulsive drawer, to serious illustrator with a eye toward children's picture books. He now lives in Brooklyn NY with his wife. He has two grown daughters, and his wife also happens to be a school teacher.

http://www.bookdepository.com/Rumpelstiltskin-Paul-Zelinsky/9780140558647?b=-3&t=-26#Bibliographicdata-26
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