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Summary
Summary
"The course of true love never did run smooth." --William Shakespeare
When the prince spies Rapunzel high in her tower, he's convinced she is the girl of his dreams. Of course he thinks he can save her the traditional way, but this is no traditional Rapunzel.
She throws down everything but what the princ asks for--including a surprise that makes all his dreams come true.
A hilarious fractured fairy tale with clever page-turns and vibrant, eclectic art that is perfect for funny Valentine's Day story hours.
Author Notes
Born in Surrey, England, Lydia Monks currently resides in London with her two cats.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-This humorous twist on a traditional tale will resonate with today's young readers. Told in rhyming couplets, this version features a protagonist who weeps, not from loneliness, but rather over the sorry state of her flowing blond locks. The prince, mistaking her tears for legitimate suffering, is determined to set her free and invites her to throw down her hair. Rapunzel, however, mishears his request and throws down her underwear instead. The persistent noble tries a variety of other tactics, asking for her locks, tresses, rope, twine, and ladder, each time growing less enamored as she responds with socks, dresses, a cantaloupe, a swine, and a bowl of pancake batter. Finally, he begs her to let down her braid, but instead out drops her maid, a fortuitous mistake since the servant and the prince fall madly in love and ride off together. The verses are clever and concise, and the rhyming pattern allows listeners to anticipate their endings and to giggle over the results. The rhythm is consistent and the stresses in each line flow naturally, inspiring would-be poets. Monks's delightful acrylic-and-collage illustrations add to the humor. Their bright, vivacious colors, bold patterns, fun background details (e.g., skyscrapers, airplanes, and a computer in Rapunzel's tower), and exaggerated facial expressions reinforce the silliness. Pair this with David Wiesner's The Three Pigs (Clarion, 2001) and Diane Stanley's Goldie and the Three Bears (HarperCollins, 2003) for a fresh look at classic fairy tales.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"Once upon a bad hair day,/ A prince rode up Rapunzel's way," opens Wilcox's debut book, offering a slight if agreeably silly take on the classic tale. In rhymed couplets of varying cleverness, the author relates a tale of miscommunication. The prince hears Rapunzel's whine (she is "upset her hair had lost its shine") and mistakes it for a plea (after which he "sallied forth to set her free"). The misunderstandings mount: when the royal asks her to throw down her hair, the heroine instead tosses him gaily colored underwear; a request for her "curly locks" brings a deluge of dirty socks; and hearing that he wants some twine, she heaves out her "blue-ribbon swine." Monks (The Cat Barked?) conveys the addled antics in whimsical art, rendered in an engaging mix of acrylic paint, collage and colored pencil. Among the kid-tickling images is a view of the stunned prince covered with pancake batter (which comes flying out of the tower when he asks if the lass has a ladder). Many youngsters may giggle at the wordplay (as well as the concluding twist), but the joke is pretty much a one-noter. Ages 4-9. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) ""Once upon a bad hair day, / a prince rode up Rapunzel's way."" Thus begins this irreverent spoof, which plays with words, rhyme, and fairy-tale conventions with obvious delight. The bright and lively mixed-media illustrations are equally imaginative and extend the text's infectious humor. Rapunzel's white tower sits alone atop a tree- and sheep-dotted hill, looking toward a modern city on the horizon. High-maintenance Rapunzel, up in her tower room (comfortably furnished with computer, cell phone, maid, clothes, hair dryer, makeup, and pet pig), misinterprets Prince Charming's overtures from down below. Again and again, he tries variations on the familiar refrain, ""Rapunzel, Rapunzel, throw down your hair!"" ""Your curly locks!"" ""Do you have a rope?"" Over and over, Rapunzel gets it wrong, throwing down, among other things, underwear, dirty socks, and a cantaloupe. There's enough in both the text and the art to involve a wide age range; preschoolers, who may be unfamiliar with the original story or with some of the punning (e.g., ""I fell for you when we first met""), will howl at the prince covered with dirty socks and silky dresses. The prince's final plea -- ""Rapunzel, Rapunzel, / let down your BRAID!"" -- works as well as the previous ones: ""Confused Rapunzel pushed out her maid."" But that suits the maid and the prince just fine (""His young heart thrilled, he gave a hoot, / for what was more, the maid was cute!""). Don't write Rapunzel off as a ditzy blonde, however, as she gets in the last word: ""I hope if they come back for more, / they'll think to knock on my back door."" Listeners will certainly call out for more -- you heard that right. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
"Once upon a bad hair day, a prince rode up Rapunzel's way." This opening line sets the stage for a thoroughly silly, modernized, and thoroughly fractured fairy tale written in rhyme. When the prince calls, "throw down your hair," Rapunzel, armed with hair dryer and computer, hears, "throw down your underwear." Which she does--followed by dirty socks for curly locks, silky dresses for silky tresses, cantaloupe for rope, pancake batter for ladder. Get the picture? When he calls out for her braid, she pushes out her maid, who lands on the prince and they fall in love and ride off together. The off-beat collage illustrations are as kooky as the tale, fabrics obviously used for clothing, but a mix of materials for flowers and shrubs. The rhyming device for the objects lends a participatory element for kids who already know the real version. And the twist on "happily ever after" spins a reality-based meaning on the phrase "falling for you" that kids should find funny. (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. This fractured fairy tale twists Rapunzel to a fare-thee-well. Using a sprightly rhyme, Wilcox tells of a prince who spies the long-haired Rapunzel and immediately calls to her to throw down her hair. Alas, she's too far away to hear him clearly, and throws down her underwear instead. Every attempt to clarify the situation makes things worse: 'No Rapunzel, your curly locks.' / Rapunzel threw down dirty socks. And so it goes until the prince asks Rapunzel to throw down her braid, and instead she manages to pitch down her maid--with whom the prince is quite taken. Then it's happily ever after, etc. Acrylic paint, colored pencil, and collage mix together in slapstick pictures that match the text in cheeky appeal. Of course, the story is funnier if children know the original tale, but even if they don't, this version takes on a bouncy life of its own. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2003 Booklist