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312th out of 935 books
—
638 voters
The Girl Who Spun Gold
Quashiba, a peasant girl, is about to be made queen because the king believes that she can spin and weave golden things. A tiny creature comes to save her under the condition that she has three chances to guess his name right. West Indian
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 1st 2000
by Blue Sky Press
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This is a truly beautiful book! The Dillons are remarkable artists and I am so happy they were able to use the gold "color" for the illustrations (the illustrator's note explains that this was a rather complicated process but since the whole story revolves around gold, they wanted the illustrations to aptly reflect this). If you enjoy the gold work in Demi's illustrations, I think you would like these, too. As for the story itself, it's a version of the folktale most know as Rumpelstiltskin. The...more
This book is a West Indian version of Rumpelstiltskin. The story begins with Quashiba's mother lies and tells Big King that her daughter can spin golden thread. Big King and Quashiba get married, and nothing is said about her ability to spin gold thread for a year and a day. After that time has passed, her husband locks her in a room and demands that she spin a room of golden thread and cloth. That's when Lit'mahn, the "shade fellow," offers his assistance. She has three tries on three nights to...more
This is a West Indian version of the story of Rumplestiltskin. In this version the story begins with a very detailed description of the little man's odd appearance and his magic. When the girl's mother brags to the king about how the girl can spin beautiful gold thread and fabrics, the king quickly marries her. One year later, he demands that she spin three rooms full of fabric. The little man, named Lit'mahn, promises to help and gives her three chances on three days to guess his name or he wil...more
“The Girl Who Spun Gold” is an African retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm tale “Rumpelstiltskin” by Virginia Hamilton along with illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon and it is about how a young and beautiful woman named Quashiba has to spin golden thread for the King while guessing the name of a mysterious and frightening little man. “The Girl Who Spun Gold” is truly one of the best retellings of the classic Brothers Grimm tale ever written!
Virginia Hamilton has done an excellent job at re...more
Virginia Hamilton has done an excellent job at re...more
In this West Indies variation of Rumpelstiltskin, beautiful and young Quashiba is visited by the king one day while sitting and laughing with her mother. After her mother boasts that Quashiba can spin fine gold thread, the king insists on marrying her. Soon after the wedding, the king tells his bride that for now she is free, but in a year's time she will have to start spinning golden thread. Quashiba lives like a queen for a year, hoping the king will forget his demand. No such luck! At the yea...more
The Girl Who Spun Gold is an African version of Rumpelstiltskin and was interesting to say the least. The story is similar to the story of Rumpelstiltskin with some differences. After her mother told a fib that she could spin gold, Quashiba ended up marrying the king. She was unable to spin gold, and a tiny man (Lit’ Mahn) saved her by helping her. Quashiba was very unhappy because the king was very mean to her and she felt used for her alleged skills. Due to a conversation with the king, she wa...more
Hamilton, Virginia. (2000.) The Girl Who Spun Gold. L. and D. Dillon. New York: The Blue Sky Press.
Literary Genre: Traditional Literature (Picture Book)
Quashiba is a beautiful girl who finds herself in a seemingly impossible predicament because of her mother’s lie. Quashiba is married to the young Big King who demands her to weave him three rooms of golden things or stay looked in a room forever. A magical tiny shadow man with a wooden leg and long tail offers to help Quashiba but she only has t...more
Literary Genre: Traditional Literature (Picture Book)
Quashiba is a beautiful girl who finds herself in a seemingly impossible predicament because of her mother’s lie. Quashiba is married to the young Big King who demands her to weave him three rooms of golden things or stay looked in a room forever. A magical tiny shadow man with a wooden leg and long tail offers to help Quashiba but she only has t...more
Grades K-3
Virginia Hamilton's traditional West Indian variant of Rumpelstiltskin has many similarities to the most famous German tale. It is the mother who lies about her daughter's ability to spin gold, and after one year of marriage, the handsome king threatens to lock up the girl, Quashiba, "forever and a year" if she fails to spin three rooms of gold. Lit'mahn Bittyun, a little shade man, spins for her but will make her tiny and carry her off to live in the shade if she fails to guess his na...more
Virginia Hamilton's traditional West Indian variant of Rumpelstiltskin has many similarities to the most famous German tale. It is the mother who lies about her daughter's ability to spin gold, and after one year of marriage, the handsome king threatens to lock up the girl, Quashiba, "forever and a year" if she fails to spin three rooms of gold. Lit'mahn Bittyun, a little shade man, spins for her but will make her tiny and carry her off to live in the shade if she fails to guess his na...more
The Girl Who Spun Gold was a real treat. I,thought the illustrations were beautiful with the exception of Lit'mahn. I first opened the book in a dimly lit room and staring back at me was that creepy little man with razor sharp teeth! I think the illustrators captured the look in Lit'mahn they were going for. I turned on a light to enjoy the illustrations better. Really it wasn't because Lit'mahn freaked me out.;) At the end of the book, I found it fascinating how much work went into making the a...more
When I opened this book and saw the first colorful illustration, I was awed. The illustrations are truly amazing in this book - highly detailed, with well-balanced and pleasing colors embellished with gold. I just loved looking at each page.
The story itself is told well; this is a version of the story known to me as Rumplestiltskin. The use of "dialect" to help one hear the voice of the story teller is something that tends to turn me off. And that was true here, as the author emulated a West Ind...more
The story itself is told well; this is a version of the story known to me as Rumplestiltskin. The use of "dialect" to help one hear the voice of the story teller is something that tends to turn me off. And that was true here, as the author emulated a West Ind...more
The illustrations in this book are elaborate and rich. They were made using acrylic paint and gold leaf and it is apparent that a lot of time and effort went into creating these intricate pictures. The story is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin (Lit’mahn Bittyun in this version) with one notable exception; Quashiba (the Millers Daughter) acts like a real person and is not a complete pushover as she is in other versions. I feel the book works better when read out loud because of Hamilton’s creative...more
Although I believe children should be taught to not be greedy like Big King was in the story, I would not recommend this book. The African folk tale was written in an off-beat dialogue that new readers would have a difficult time understanding. I, myself had a hard time reading it and only thought that the last page of the story provided any enriching material. After reading the tale I think that there are much better, and more suitable books (such as rainbow fish or other stories with a message...more
I enjoyed this picture book very much. The Girl Who Spun Gold is the traditional folktale of Rumpelstiltskin. It is a West Indian variant. The West Indian variant is told in a so-called black dialect. The story is wonderful and children of all ages and cultures would enjoy it. The illustrations also make this book outstanding. The paintings used acrylic paint on acetate, over-painted with gold paint. The borders of the book were done using a gold leaf. The illustrations used gold paint since the...more
The story of Rumpelstiltskin is told richly in this West Indian variant. The author has worked to capture a simplified version of the dialect that still retains the sing-song quality of the language. While this may be complicated for younger readers, it adds a depth and richness to the story. This wonderfully complements the beautiful illustrations that are embossed with gold leaf. The pictures perfectly capture the beauty of Queen Quashiba and the distorted, colorfully ugly Liht'man. This great...more
We were excited to read a Caribbean version of Rumpelstiltskin and we were not disappointed. The story is entertaining and I liked the fact that despite the king locking his queen in the rooms to spin gold, he also has a hand in saving her. The illustrations are marvelous and we were fascinated by the description of creating the illustrations using gold leaf. Overall, we really enjoyed reading this story together.
This story was selected as one of the books for the August 2010 - North American F...more
This story was selected as one of the books for the August 2010 - North American F...more
Now this one, this one was even written more recently than the Duffy story, and though they did insert some parts where the girl gets angry and refuses to forgive her husband who imprisoned her for a few years, he still imprisoned her and she still stayed with a man who pretty much told her that's what he was planning. This is the story of an abusive husband. That's what's underneath the folktale. It's messed up and we don't even get the fun of the demon thing tearing itself in two. I'd forgotte...more
I’ve never much liked the Rumpelstiltskin tale and I wasn’t wild about the premise of this story, which is obviously based on it. I got angry at the original lie and angry at the advantage taken of it.
But, this is a wonderful telling. From the first page this story begged to be read aloud. The cadence of the language was beautiful. I still don’t like the story that much but I did like this version better than the one I grew up with. I definitely liked how it addressed the wrongs on everybody’s p...more
But, this is a wonderful telling. From the first page this story begged to be read aloud. The cadence of the language was beautiful. I still don’t like the story that much but I did like this version better than the one I grew up with. I definitely liked how it addressed the wrongs on everybody’s p...more
An African twist on Rumpelstilskin. I like that it addresses the fact that the prince who locks up the girl is a total jerk and he and she both admit it in this story, she won't speak to him and the marriage has a year or so of pain after the gold incident. I think the telling in this is much deeper than the original! Gorgeous illustrations, my kids liked reading various versions of this tale this week and it was nice to find one that had brown people in it and more nuanced details.
This is a West Indies inspired version of the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, called Lit'mahn in this story. The mother of a young village girl brags to the passing Big King about her daughter's ability to spin gold thread. Big King happily marries the girl, but "being young, he went too far." He tells her he will give her everything her heart desires, but in a year and a day she must start her spinning. You know how the story ends. Or do you?
I found this a refreshing take on the usual Grimm version....more
I found this a refreshing take on the usual Grimm version....more
I’m giving this 5 stars based on the artwork – which is gorgeous. There is a heavy, heavy use of gold paint throughout – since, after all, this is a story about gold. The pictures are a mixture of very real looking faces and hands, engulfed in sumptuous bolts of cloth that are as dazzlingly and abstract as any Klimt painting.
The characters, vibrant and alive, move through a setting just as colorful and real and yet abstract – the flowers and trees and grass look like tiles from an ancient Mesop...more
The characters, vibrant and alive, move through a setting just as colorful and real and yet abstract – the flowers and trees and grass look like tiles from an ancient Mesop...more
In this West Indian tale Big King takes lovely Quashiba as his wife after her mother tells a little white lie - that Quashiba has the ability to spin gold. After a year of marital bliss Big King locks his bride in a room demanding that she spin gold in order to win her freedom. Luckily help arrives in the form of a little demon named Lit'mahn Bittyun. Of course there's a catch - if Quashiba cannot guess his name in three days he will shrink her down to his size and spirit her away to live in his...more
A girl's mother tells the king that her daughter can spin gold. Immediately he marries the daughter and demands that she spin three rooms full of gold. I really did not understand the true meaning of the story. I also felt that the illustration of the little man is rather scary looking for younger children.
While I enjoyed the story I think it contains many difficult names which may be hard for kids who have just begun their reading journey. The illustrations include gold spots which were very fun to look at throughout the story.
*Book from text
*Book from text
The artwork is some of the most gorgeous I've seen in a children's book. I liked the West Indian setting for this version of Rumpelstiltskin and that the spinner in this doesn't easily or quickly forgive her husband for being such a greedy tyrant.
My kids loved this story. I loved the fact that Queen Quashiba was not afraid to issue a punishment to Big King for his treatment of her and then was also able to forgive him. This was a good example for my kids, especially my daughter.
Beautifully illustrated variation on the Rumplestiltskin theme. Be sure to read the info at the end about variations/versions of this story. Will be fun to share along with other versions in a lesson on folk tales.
This african tale is a very nice spin on the story of Rumplestiltskin. I also like when the queen demands respect from her husband the king by giving him the silent treatment. Very beautiful illustrations also.
Absolutely gorgeous illustrations using metallic gold paint as well as a beautiful color palette. This is a variant of the "little man“ tale of Rumplestiltskin, as told in the West Indies
This book was a great West Indies version of Rumpelstilskin. The illustrations are simply amazing! They are absolutely gorgeous, colorful with gold edging and accents on each page.
May 17, 2009
Michelle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Folk tales
Shelves:
picture-book
This retelling of a Rumpelstiltskin story was absolutely wonderful. It has a strong voice and was well written. The gold detailed illustrations were absolutely perfect!
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My sentiments exactly!
May 29, 2010 07:37am
My sentiments exactly!"
Ditto! But I like how it was emphasized here! It...more
Aug 09, 2010 09:05am