Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter

I *love* this book! And so does my 3 year old daughter. The artwork is beautiful and so wonderful to look at. The story is *awesome* and just great for little girls [and boys!]. The author has a superb wit and a gift for storytelling. This has quickly become one of our very favorites and my daughter spends lots of time now pretending to be "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter" [who also had a name!]. I'm very happy with the impact this tale has had on her sense of what it is to be a woman. This tale encourages girls to be clever and self sufficient without being tedious or overbearingly feminist. [And without being anti-male]. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Sometimes I run across a book that has such a well-crafted story and such exquisite illustrations that I just sit back and say, "Wow!" This book by Diane Stanley is one of those "wow" books. In this version of Rumpelstiltskin, the miller's daughter, Meredith, is not a brainless wench who jumps at the chance to marry the king. Rumpelstiltskin is not an evil child-snatching gnome. In fact, he's a sweet soul who only wants one thing in life -- a child to love and care for. No wonder Meredith decides to ditch the king and marry Rumpelstiltskin. Besides, she has a weakness for short men. Rumpelstiltskin and Meredith marry, work on their farm, and raise their daughter. Although the family could use Rumpelstiltskin's talents to become exceedingly rich, he only spins a small amount of gold to buy those things they can't make or grow themselves. The rest of the people in the kingdom are not so lucky. The greedy king has rooms full of gold while his subjects are penniless and starving. No wonder he needs a contingent of armed guards who have elevated teeth-gnashing and sword-clutching into an art form. When Rumpelstiltskin's daughter is sixteen, her parents let her take the odd bit of gold into town to exchange it for coins to buy necessities. Eventually the old greedy king hears about this, kidnaps Rumpelstiltskin's daughter, and locks her in a tower filled with straw. "Rumpelstiltskin's daughter looked around. She saw a pile of straw the size of a bus. She saw a locked door and high windows. She gave a big sigh and began to think. She knew her father could get her out of this pickle. But she had heard stories about the king all her life. One room full of gold would never satisfy him. Her father would be stuck here, spinning, until there was not an iota of straw left in the kingdom. "After a while she climbed the pile of straw and thought some more. She thought about the poor farmers and about the hungry children with their thin faces and sad eyes. She put the two thoughts together and cooked up a plan. . ." Instead of spinning straw into gold, Rumpelstiltskin's daughter puts her plan (which Ms. Stanley develops so cleverly that you really should read it for yourself) into action and saves the kingdom by teaching the king some simple lessons in economics and public relations. By the end of the story, the king offers her his hand in marriage, which she wisely declines. "Why don't you make me prime minister, instead," she suggests. The best word to describe the illustrations is sumptuous. Diane Stanley's greedy king with his elegantly styled coif bears a striking resemblance to Louis XIV, and the artwork mirrors the Sun King's opulence. The palace shines with gilded ceilings and elaborate tiled floors. On the palace walls hang masterpieces so famous that my six year old can recognize most of them --works by da Vinci, Van Gogh, Picasso.

When Rumpelstiltskin's daughter is captured by the same greedy king who imprisoned her mother, she is determined to save herself and teach the king a lesson at the same time. This she does with real flair, improving the king's economy and polishing his image until his subjects adore him. A funny and refreshing change from fairy tales that promise only rescue for the dainty heroine, this updating of the Rumpelstiltskin story features the sharp wit of Diane Stanley as well as wonderfully clever illustrations that will engage everyone from children to adults.

"I am five years old. I like this book because the pictures are beautiful, the story is fun, and there are no scary parts. My dad loves it, too"I am the mom, and I love it, too. This book adds a new twist to an old tale.

We purchased _Rumpelstltskin's Daughter_ for the Children's Art Museum's Picture Book Library. The staff has been passing the it around enjoying it. It was the third or fourth time I looked through it before I noticed the paintings within the illustrations. The paintings on the walls of the castle are "copies" of famous artists's work including a Picasso, the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and other. Take a close look with a child. We will be featuring it in our Storytime next Tuesday (our school district is on spring break next week).