The Bibliography
Zelinsky, Paul. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN 0525442653
The Plot
The poor miller in town gains favor with the king by telling him the outrageous lie that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Poor daughter! Of course she can't do that! The king locks her in a room full of straw and tells her that if she doesn't spin all the straw into gold in one night, he's going to kill her! A strange little man appears and spins the straw into gold for her. This happens twice more, and, on the third night, the king says he will marry the miller's daughter if she can once again spin the straw into gold. The strange little man appears again and spins the straw into gold on the condition that she will give him her firstborn child. A year or so after the marriage, the Queen has a baby and who should turn up but the strange little man. He tells the Queen that if she can tell him his name, he will allow her to keep her baby. Smart Queen sends one of her maids out to the woods to eavesdrop on the little man and finds him singing a song to himself that, conveniently, contains his name. She correctly names the little man, thus keeping her baby and they all live happily ever after.
The Analysis
Paul Zelinsky is a wonderful artist, as is evident by his Caldecott award and three Caldecott honor books. I like the facial expressions the miller's daughter/queen has throughout the book and how accurately they correspond with the story. The oil-painted artwork was definitely worthy of a Caldecott Honor and was done in Renaissance style by painting over watercolor with oil paints. It's very beautiful.
About the story, it's interesting to read the note on the text at the end of the book, where Zelinsky discusses how the story of Rumpelstiltsken came about and that he used several editions and some of his own words to create his version. The thing I don't understand about the story is this: Why in the world would you marry a man that threatened to kill you on more than one occasion?!
The Review
Tammy (BookHive (www.bookhive.org))
Could you spin straw into gold? Well, that is exactly what a greedy King orders a miller's daughter to do in this tale. Locked in a room she becomes so desperate to do what the King asks that she is forced to bargain with a tiny man whom she eventually promises her first born child. When the time comes to give up her child she can only break the bargain by guessing the strange little man's name. Based on the Grimm brothers' earliest version Zelinsky's beautifully detailed oil paintings depict the medieval time period wonderfully and add a creative element to this well-known tale.
Zelinsky, Paul. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN 0525442653
The Plot
The poor miller in town gains favor with the king by telling him the outrageous lie that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Poor daughter! Of course she can't do that! The king locks her in a room full of straw and tells her that if she doesn't spin all the straw into gold in one night, he's going to kill her! A strange little man appears and spins the straw into gold for her. This happens twice more, and, on the third night, the king says he will marry the miller's daughter if she can once again spin the straw into gold. The strange little man appears again and spins the straw into gold on the condition that she will give him her firstborn child. A year or so after the marriage, the Queen has a baby and who should turn up but the strange little man. He tells the Queen that if she can tell him his name, he will allow her to keep her baby. Smart Queen sends one of her maids out to the woods to eavesdrop on the little man and finds him singing a song to himself that, conveniently, contains his name. She correctly names the little man, thus keeping her baby and they all live happily ever after.
The Analysis
Paul Zelinsky is a wonderful artist, as is evident by his Caldecott award and three Caldecott honor books. I like the facial expressions the miller's daughter/queen has throughout the book and how accurately they correspond with the story. The oil-painted artwork was definitely worthy of a Caldecott Honor and was done in Renaissance style by painting over watercolor with oil paints. It's very beautiful.
About the story, it's interesting to read the note on the text at the end of the book, where Zelinsky discusses how the story of Rumpelstiltsken came about and that he used several editions and some of his own words to create his version. The thing I don't understand about the story is this: Why in the world would you marry a man that threatened to kill you on more than one occasion?!
The Review
Tammy (BookHive (www.bookhive.org))
Could you spin straw into gold? Well, that is exactly what a greedy King orders a miller's daughter to do in this tale. Locked in a room she becomes so desperate to do what the King asks that she is forced to bargain with a tiny man whom she eventually promises her first born child. When the time comes to give up her child she can only break the bargain by guessing the strange little man's name. Based on the Grimm brothers' earliest version Zelinsky's beautifully detailed oil paintings depict the medieval time period wonderfully and add a creative element to this well-known tale.
The Connection
If I didn't use this story as part of my Fairy/Folk Tales storytime, I would also be inclined to do a storytime only using books illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, such as Hansel and Gretel and Dust Devil, written by Anne Isaacs. Or maybe have a Paul O. Zelinsky storytime featuring Rumpelstiltskin and his other Caldecott award and honor winners, Rapunzel, Swamp Angel and Hansel and Gretel. We could then attempt to mimic his art style by painting a picture, then painting over it in another media.
If I didn't use this story as part of my Fairy/Folk Tales storytime, I would also be inclined to do a storytime only using books illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, such as Hansel and Gretel and Dust Devil, written by Anne Isaacs. Or maybe have a Paul O. Zelinsky storytime featuring Rumpelstiltskin and his other Caldecott award and honor winners, Rapunzel, Swamp Angel and Hansel and Gretel. We could then attempt to mimic his art style by painting a picture, then painting over it in another media.
No comments:
Post a Comment