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Summary
Summary
0nce upon a time a miller's daughter was given an impossible task by a cruel and greedy king. She had to spin straw into gold. And who should show up to help her but an odd little man named Rumpelstiltskin.
According to tradition, the gold-bedazzled king and the miller's daughter are wed. But wait just a minute! This king is definitely not husband material, and there's someone else who is--a hardworking guy who's supportive and nice looking, and who really comes through in a pinch.
Why not marry Rumpelstiltskin?
In Diane Stanley's merry rethinking of the traditional tale, Rumpelstiltskin and the miller's daughter are wed...and then sixteen years later their only daughter is stuck in the same dilemma: She's been locked in a room full of straw to spin for a greedy king! She could call for help from her father, but this fairy-tale heroine has some canny plans of her own.
How Rumpelstiltskin's daughter sets things to rights in the troubled kingdom, while achieving a unique place for herself, makes for a wise and witty tale of kindness and cleverness rewarded. Diane Stanley's wickedly funny text and zesty illustrations put a delightful new spin on a classic fairy tale.
Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.2000-2001 Georgia's Picture Storybook Award & Georgia's Children's Book Award Masterlist
01-02 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 3-6)
99-00 Children's Book Award
Author Notes
Diane Stanley was born in 1943 and was raised in Abilene, Texas. She later attended both Trinity University and Johns Hopkins University.
Her portfolio of children's book illustrations was creative enough for her to begin publication in 1978. She became an art director for G.P. Putnam & Sons and later began retelling and illustrating classic children's books.
Stanley has revamped the fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter and has also researched the children's biographies Cleopatra and Leonardo Da Vinci. She also illustrated her mother's book, The Last Princess.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4This tongue-in-cheek update of Rumpelstiltskin is a rollicking and irreverent spoof in which the miller's daughter marries Rumpelstiltskin because she likes his ideas on parenting and has a weakness for short men. When their daughter turns 16, they want her to see the world beyond their simple country life and send her to exchange some gold coins at the town market. When the greedy king, the same one from the original story, hears of a girl who can "make gold," the scenario is repeated. Imprisoned in the tower to spin straw into gold, the clever girl uses her wits to outsmart the ostentatious king by telling him her grandfather used to "grow" gold. Her twofold plan results in feeding and clothing the poor beleaguered subjects of the kingdom and her becoming prime minister. The comical, exaggerated illustrations feature bug-eyed characters, outlandish costumes for the foppish king, woven borders that frame the action, and humorous details like parodies of famous paintings. Stanley has spun 24-karat fun.Julie Cummins, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This miller's daughter can't imagine why anyone would want to marry the money-loving king, and proposes marriage to the short little man who has saved her life. In a starred review, PW said, "Stanley blazes a new path for herself in this effervescent revisionist fairy tale, and the results are stunning." Ages 5-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In this humorous take-off on the familiar folktale, Rumpelstiltskin's daughter relies on her cleverness instead of magic. When the king orders her to spin straw into gold, she tricks him out of his greedy ways and becomes prime minister of his kingdom. The illustrations provide splendid, detailed palace interiors and endow the characters, especially the king and his minions, with comically exaggerated features. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A feminist revision of Rumpelstiltskin, in which the small man and the miller's daughter marry and raise a daughter, Hope, who finds herself in the same room of straw her mother once faced. She tricks the king out of his selfish ways, by making him provide for his subjects, who then raise golden wheat in the fields, and dress in golden wool knit clothes. The king realizes that generosity brings far more wealth than mere gold can; Hope becomes the country's prime minister. Stanley (Leonardo da Vinci, 1996, etc.) plugs in quips and fast plot maneuvers to keep this tale hopping, but it's the detailed, humorous illustrations that will entice readers, for she slightly alters her familiar style to encompass the comic pitch. Those who like Babette Cole's send- ups will find plenty of giggles in this reworking. (Picture book. 5-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 5-9. Forget passive damsels in distress. Most fractured fairy tales have a feminist spin, and this sequel (sort of) turns Rumpelstiltskin into a witty mix of fable and farce, with a king who's as stupid as he is greedy and a sly 16-year-old damsel, who manages the whole show and saves the world. It turns out that Rumpelstiltskin and the miller's daughter had really escaped the wicked king; they had married and had a daughter. Now at 16, she is captured by the king and ordered, as her mother once was, to spin straw into gold. She could ask her dad for help, but instead she cooks up a plan, outwits the king, and brings food and power to the starving people. She persuades the king that the best way to make gold is not to spin it but to grow it, and she makes him give his gold to the poor farmers--who then grow golden wheat and food. Pictures and story are a clever mix of period and contemporary. Stanley's artistry transforms the Renaissance court of her majestic Leonardo da Vinci (1996) into delicious slapstick here, with the stately palace festooned with grotesque versions of the Mona Lisa and Botticelli's Venus. The king looks like a costumed buffoon in drag, and the ringlets of his giant wig like clusters of coins. In a wonderful climax, the tamed king decides to marry her, but she suggests she become prime minister instead. This tale would make an uproarious readers' theater, with the king like a whining child ("Is it time yet?" "Do I have to?"), his guards gnashing their teeth and clutching their swords, and the smart blond bossing them all. (Reviewed March 1, 1997)068814327XHazel Rochman