Rumpelstiltskin (Paul Galdone Classics)

This story is about a miller's daughter who has to spin straw into gold. A little man comes along at the last minute and says he will help her if she will repay him with things. The first two nights, the daughter had to trade a necklace and a ring. On the third night she had nothing to trade so he

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made her promise her first born son. The king married her and they had a son. The little man came for the child, but he said she could keep him if she could guess his name. She guessed it after someone overhead him say it, and she kept her child.

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Classic Grimm tale of spinning straw into gold. Images are detailed, yet juvenile. Useful lessons of importance of being honest and true.

Rumpelstiltskin is an interesting children's fairytale with a moral like most Grimm stories. However, I'm not impressed with the art on the pages-- kids cannot relater this story and the colors and drawings aren't very appealing to the eye.

This was my favorite fairy tale growing up because the heroine outsmarts the villain.

Galdone, P. (1985). Rumpelstiltskin. New York, NY: Ticknor & Fields.
Grades 1 through 3

One day during a visit to the king, the miller boats of his daughter’s ability to spin straw into gold. The king brings the miller’s daughter to the castle and threatens to kill her if she does not prove her

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talent. She frets all night and when she starts crying, a little man comes through the door. The miller’s daughter strikes a deal with him: her necklace for the straw spun into gold. The king is amazed; greedy, he forces the girl to spin more and more gold. Every night, she makes a new deal with the little man until she has nothing more to trade. Desperate and afraid for her life, she agrees to give him her first-born. The king marries the miller’s daughter, and she forgets about her promise. When she has her first child, a baby daughter, the little man returns to claim his prize. Her crying prompts a deal: if she can find out his name, he will leave her and her daughter alone. The queen sends her messenger to search far and wide for names and learns the names of everyone in the kingdom, but nothing matches the little man’s name. The messenger returns with good news; he saw the little man dance around the fire, and his name is Rumpelstiltskin. She wins her bet with Rumpelstiltskin and keeps her daughter. In a fit of anger, he stamps his feet so hard that he disappears from sight.

Rumpelstiltskin is a faithful retelling of the German fairy tale about a supernatural being that rescues a damsel in distress in exchange for her baby. The little man appears from nowhere and takes advantage of the poor miller’s daughter, stuck in a bad predicament because of his father’s lie. That the queen outwits the evil man guarantees a happy ending, but readers may still feel a bit unsettled by her willingness to agree with giving up her baby. The illustrations are bold—two-page spreads colored mostly in bright, primary colors, with blue and red the most predominant. The beautiful, blond miller’s daughter stands in stark contrast against the ugly little man and his bushy eyebrows, each representing an extreme of character: good in attractive; evil is ugly. The bold illustrations enliven this classic fairy tale.

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The timeless classic story of a poor girl who makes a deal with the devil. in this case the devil is Rumplestiltskin. Will she be able to figure out his riddle or will he take her prized possession?

I liked this book for a few reasons. One reason I really liked it was the illustrations. The pictures have many lines that are not always neatly drawn. Sometimes the lines overlap or appear messy. It adds texture to the pictures and brings more life to the illustration. I found it fitting for the

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types of objects because there is a lot of straw and brick. It also helps show the time period this story is set in. Because it is an older story from the medieval times, the many messy lines make it look older. I also liked the suspense that is created throughout the story. There are many twists and turns because of how Rumpelstiltskin is developed. At first, the little man appears to be helpful and heroic, but over time his true character is shown. He becomes more aggressive and greedy, which greatly affects the story. The main idea of the story is to be cautious of who you make deals with because you never know what may happen.

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I enjoyed this book because it is a traditional literature that I read as a child. I love stories that start with “once upon a time” just like this story does. This story has a lot of dialogue between the characters, which makes the story more interactive and enjoyable to read. You get to

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change your voice as you read, which always makes reading more fun and affective. I think that the pictures really added to the story. The illustrations are older looking and appear to be done in colored pencil. This adds to the story since fairytales are older stories and it adds to the history of the tale. Also, the illustrations portray the emotions of the characters very well. You can see the evil and mischievous look that is always on Rumpelstiltskin’s face and the worried look on the other character’s faces. The illustrations also flow into both pages, which extends the illustrations. This allows you to see more activity in the illustrations as it travels across the pages. The big idea of this story is to not be greedy, but to appreciate what you have. Also, we should always be honest and lying is not the right way to get attention from others.

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I remember hearing about this folktale as a child, but I never remembered it. This story was about a miller's daughter who was sent to the king to spin straw into gold. After she couldn't do it a little man appeared who was named Rumpelstiltskin and helped her every night that the Kindg asked for

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more. On the third night, the King said if the miller's daughter could spin the rest of the straw into gold she would be his wife. Since she had nothing left to give Rumpelstiltskin he asked for her first born child, and she agreed. When she day came when she had her child, the little man came back and demanded it. She was so upset, so he gave her three days to figure out his name. On the final day she finally figured it out because someone had overheard him singing about it. The Queen got to keep her daughter, and Rumpelstiltskin got so angry that he pounded his feet into the ground and fell into the earth and was never seen again. I really liked this book because it was creative and had a good plot. Even thought it's an old folktale and a classic, it was nice to re-read it and become familiar with it again. I really enjoyed the illustrations as well, because they had vibrant colors and simple yet realistic details.

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