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Rapunzel
Here is the classic story of Rapunzel, the lovely girl who is raised by a witch and locked up in a tall tower before being rescued by a handsome prince.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
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660 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
March 18, 2016
Okay, so I really liked how this retold the semi-original tale. But unfortunately, Rapunzel as a story kind of creeps me out and I don't think Rogasky did much retelling as just editing the original. I didn't care more about characters. That's what I really look for in these sorts of books. HOWEVER, the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman (what an unfortunate name) were so beautiful. She mixed a craft/stained glass window look with art deco and it was great. So much illustration in here, too. That was top quality. I'll be looking more into her work.
February 25, 2015
Wonderful version of "Rapunzel." As I said in my review of "The Sleeping Beauty", forget Disney. This is my favorite version of the fairy tale. Some versions of Rapunzel are too creepy for my taste, but this one managed to capture the 'real' story without getting too strange when it comes to Mother Gothel's obsession with Rapunzel. My four-year-old daughter, who knows "Tangled" very well, was held in great suspense for this read-aloud and several times she had her hands over her ears as I read, anticipating what might be coming...
February 26, 2016
3.5 out of 5
Beautifully written story with amazing, dark and mysterious illustrations. However, I was taken aback by a couple of illustrations in which the characters seemed to ignore their surroundings and stare at the reader.
Beautifully written story with amazing, dark and mysterious illustrations. However, I was taken aback by a couple of illustrations in which the characters seemed to ignore their surroundings and stare at the reader.
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April 19, 2024Gorgeous.
April 16, 2019
Hyman's illustrations are really beautiful. After reading and loving Hyman's versions of "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White", I was very excited to find this one. I'm planning to read "Little Red Riding Hood" as well.
As for this Rapunzel, it is very faithful to the earlier version by the Brothers Grimm. The dark tones in its colourful illustrations really compliment the darkness of the story. I also loved the little pictures that fill the gaps and the beautiful borders which separate the text from the illustrations.
Here is something you precocious little girl might ask: How did the prince and Rapunzel get married in the tower, despite no one else being there, and without a priest?
Along with Paul Zelinsky's version, this is another Rapunzel version I really loved.
This is my favourite picture. This is the place where Rapunzel meets the prince (a man) for the first time. Her expressions are completely blank not amazed, or frightened just purely confused to see a man for the first time.
As for this Rapunzel, it is very faithful to the earlier version by the Brothers Grimm. The dark tones in its colourful illustrations really compliment the darkness of the story. I also loved the little pictures that fill the gaps and the beautiful borders which separate the text from the illustrations.
Here is something you precocious little girl might ask: How did the prince and Rapunzel get married in the tower, despite no one else being there, and without a priest?
Along with Paul Zelinsky's version, this is another Rapunzel version I really loved.
This is my favourite picture. This is the place where Rapunzel meets the prince (a man) for the first time. Her expressions are completely blank not amazed, or frightened just purely confused to see a man for the first time.
March 31, 2018
Beautifully illustrated in great detail, and with borders around pictures and text.
April 14, 2020
Here for the gorgeous art.
December 20, 2024
3.5
Ages 4-9, close to the original story with eyes being plucked by thorns, but is a slightly softer version for children than Grimm's version.
Ages 4-9, close to the original story with eyes being plucked by thorns, but is a slightly softer version for children than Grimm's version.
June 24, 2019
With richly-colored and incredibly detailed illustrations that were digitally restored from the original 1982 picture book, this book tells the well-loved story of Rapunzel and how she ended up trapped in the tower by a witch due to her mother's desire for a certain vegetable and her father's devotion to her mother. I've always liked this story, no matter what version I'm reading because Rapunzel tries to take her own destiny in her own hands, thwarting the witch even though it takes some time before she gains her happily ever after. But this retelling, in the hands of a skillful storyteller and with the embellishments of an illustrator who carefully paints the strands of Rapunzel's hair and somehow evokes her mother's yearning for a special treat that is out of her reach, is especially powerful. The play of light and dark and the many looks on Rapunzel's face, even as she yearns for her prince to return to the tower, are impressive here. Hyman misses nothing, even including a small spade and scissors in the witch's basket as she tends her garden. The illustrations are a treat for the senses.
August 9, 2016
Some things are good only after Disney has worked on them.
August 20, 2014
My favourite Rapunzel illustrations, in a beautiful adaptation too.
November 16, 2015
A beautiful edition of the Rapunzel tale. I picked it up because it's illustrated by my favorite illustrator, Trina Schart Hyman. She didn't disappoint.
December 31, 2016
I am a long-time fan of Hyman's illustrations, and this is one of my very favorite series of paintings from her.
April 12, 2018
I love this story, the ending is great and it is illustrated by an awesome artist.
August 17, 2014
“«¡Verdezuela, Verdezuela,
suéltame tu cabellera!»”
suéltame tu cabellera!»”
May 4, 2019
This is a picture book retelling of Rapunzel by the Grimm Brothers.
The illustrations are by Trina Schart Hyman. Done in a blend of pencil (lead and colored), pen and ink, acrylic paint, water colors, pastels, and/or crayola crayons, they are multi-layered and dense with a lot of bonus content in the details. Each picture features a decorative border, which creates a storybook feel. They are heavy with nature imagery. Perhaps as homage to the Grimm brothers, the pictures have a southern German flavor to them.
The story sticks closely to the original Grimm version. I appreciated that Rapunzel is shown as more proactive in this version of story, weaving a ladder with strands of silk the prince brings her each time he visits. I also liked that the illustrator drew the tower as being realistically tall. Having a tower that is only two or three stories tall makes more sense in the story than a tower that is 100 feet tall.
A childless couple are overjoyed to learn they are expecting a child, but after developing a craving for rampion in the neighboring witch Mother Gothel's walled garden, the mother begins to waste away. Her desperate husband steals some for her, which only magnifies her craving. When he is caught by the irate witch attempting a second theft, he promises her the baby if only she will spare him and his wife. The witch appears shortly after the child's birth, names the child Rapunzel, and spirits her away.
When Rapunzel is 12 years old, Mother Gothel locks her in a tower deep in the forest. Whenever she wants to visit her, the witch calls, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair" and climbs her tresses to enter the tower. One day a prince overhears Rapunzel singing and discovers her locked in the tower. The prince and Rapunzel fall in love, but Rapunzel lets the whole thing slip when she remarks on how slow Mother Gothel climbs compared to the prince. The witch casts Rapunzel out in the wilderness and waits for the prince who falls from the tower and is blinded.
After wandering for a year, he stumbles upon Rapunzel, who has given birth to twins in the meantime, and her tears restore his sight. Then he, Rapunzel, and their children return to his kingdom and live happily ever after.
In this retelling, Rapunzel gives the game away by remarking on how her witch guardian climbs rather than by asking her why her dress is getting so tight around the waist. But the twins appear at the end of the story, so there is still a chance that young readers may ask questions. The text does state that Rapunzel and the prince considered themselves to be married if that helps.
To provide some historical context, in the olden days people believed that denying a woman something she craved during pregnancy could be fatal to her and/or her unborn child. (There is actually a grain of truth to this. Although pregnancy cravings are treated as a joke in contemporary society, they are actually the sign of a nutritional deficiency.) This is why Rapunzel's parents take her mother's desire for rampion so seriously.
The story of Rapunzel offers several moral lessons. The most obvious is don't steal. Instead of knocking on the witch's front door and asking her for some rampion, Rapunzel's father decides to steal some instead with disastrous results.
This leads to the second lesson of the story, which warns against making rash promises. Rash promises, or rash boons, are a common folkloric motif. A character will make a hasty promise to another character without first hearing what the request actually is and will almost always suffer severe consequences. It's the old fashioned version of not reading the fine print before signing.
Rapunzel's mother's craving both eludes to forbidden fruit and warns against the destructive force of envy. Rapunzel's mother nourishes her desire for greens from the witch's garden rather than attempting to resist it. As a result, she essentially trades her baby for a salad. The obvious moral is to resist temptation. She also overvalues what she doesn't have (fancy lettuce) and undervalues what she does have (a baby-to-be as well as a loving husband), which cautions the reader to be grateful for what one has because one doesn't know what one has until it's gone.
Rapunzel herself learns the lessons that loose lips sink ships and that wisdom comes from experience. In some ways, Mother Gothel is attempting to protect Rapunzel from the world by locking her up in a tower, and she learns that one can't hide a child from reality forever. In fact, as Rapunzel's unplanned pregnancy indicates, attempting to do so may result in unintended harm.
The illustrations are by Trina Schart Hyman. Done in a blend of pencil (lead and colored), pen and ink, acrylic paint, water colors, pastels, and/or crayola crayons, they are multi-layered and dense with a lot of bonus content in the details. Each picture features a decorative border, which creates a storybook feel. They are heavy with nature imagery. Perhaps as homage to the Grimm brothers, the pictures have a southern German flavor to them.
The story sticks closely to the original Grimm version. I appreciated that Rapunzel is shown as more proactive in this version of story, weaving a ladder with strands of silk the prince brings her each time he visits. I also liked that the illustrator drew the tower as being realistically tall. Having a tower that is only two or three stories tall makes more sense in the story than a tower that is 100 feet tall.
A childless couple are overjoyed to learn they are expecting a child, but after developing a craving for rampion in the neighboring witch Mother Gothel's walled garden, the mother begins to waste away. Her desperate husband steals some for her, which only magnifies her craving. When he is caught by the irate witch attempting a second theft, he promises her the baby if only she will spare him and his wife. The witch appears shortly after the child's birth, names the child Rapunzel, and spirits her away.
When Rapunzel is 12 years old, Mother Gothel locks her in a tower deep in the forest. Whenever she wants to visit her, the witch calls, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair" and climbs her tresses to enter the tower. One day a prince overhears Rapunzel singing and discovers her locked in the tower. The prince and Rapunzel fall in love, but Rapunzel lets the whole thing slip when she remarks on how slow Mother Gothel climbs compared to the prince. The witch casts Rapunzel out in the wilderness and waits for the prince who falls from the tower and is blinded.
After wandering for a year, he stumbles upon Rapunzel, who has given birth to twins in the meantime, and her tears restore his sight. Then he, Rapunzel, and their children return to his kingdom and live happily ever after.
In this retelling, Rapunzel gives the game away by remarking on how her witch guardian climbs rather than by asking her why her dress is getting so tight around the waist. But the twins appear at the end of the story, so there is still a chance that young readers may ask questions. The text does state that Rapunzel and the prince considered themselves to be married if that helps.
To provide some historical context, in the olden days people believed that denying a woman something she craved during pregnancy could be fatal to her and/or her unborn child. (There is actually a grain of truth to this. Although pregnancy cravings are treated as a joke in contemporary society, they are actually the sign of a nutritional deficiency.) This is why Rapunzel's parents take her mother's desire for rampion so seriously.
The story of Rapunzel offers several moral lessons. The most obvious is don't steal. Instead of knocking on the witch's front door and asking her for some rampion, Rapunzel's father decides to steal some instead with disastrous results.
This leads to the second lesson of the story, which warns against making rash promises. Rash promises, or rash boons, are a common folkloric motif. A character will make a hasty promise to another character without first hearing what the request actually is and will almost always suffer severe consequences. It's the old fashioned version of not reading the fine print before signing.
Rapunzel's mother's craving both eludes to forbidden fruit and warns against the destructive force of envy. Rapunzel's mother nourishes her desire for greens from the witch's garden rather than attempting to resist it. As a result, she essentially trades her baby for a salad. The obvious moral is to resist temptation. She also overvalues what she doesn't have (fancy lettuce) and undervalues what she does have (a baby-to-be as well as a loving husband), which cautions the reader to be grateful for what one has because one doesn't know what one has until it's gone.
Rapunzel herself learns the lessons that loose lips sink ships and that wisdom comes from experience. In some ways, Mother Gothel is attempting to protect Rapunzel from the world by locking her up in a tower, and she learns that one can't hide a child from reality forever. In fact, as Rapunzel's unplanned pregnancy indicates, attempting to do so may result in unintended harm.
March 1, 2023
Rapunzel, retold by Barbara Rogasky and beautifully illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, is a dark fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm about desire and the consequences for acting upon them. Rapunzel is taken away from her parents at birth by a witch, Mother Gothel, as a consequence of her mother’s yearning for rampion (an Eurasian plant of the bellflower family) which grew in the witch’s garden. At twelve years old, Mother Gothel takes Rapunzel to a tall tower hidden deep into the forest to hide her away from the world. Unfortunately, the witch’s plan to keep Rapunzel all to herself is thwarted after several years when Rapunzel is discovered by the king’s son. Sadly, misfortunes befall Rapunzel and the Prince as a consequence of their desire for one another.
Thankfully, this tragic tale has a happy ending, but there is much melancholy leading up to it. I enjoyed the story but was rather surprised with how creepy and ominous Mother Gothel is portrayed as well as the nature of Rapunzel’s relationship with the Prince. I think this fairy tale is more suitable for middle grade students. It is a good mentor text for teaching cause and effect, characterization, and taking responsibility for one’s actions. With all that being said, at the heart of this story is the message, “what is meant to be will always find its way.”
Thankfully, this tragic tale has a happy ending, but there is much melancholy leading up to it. I enjoyed the story but was rather surprised with how creepy and ominous Mother Gothel is portrayed as well as the nature of Rapunzel’s relationship with the Prince. I think this fairy tale is more suitable for middle grade students. It is a good mentor text for teaching cause and effect, characterization, and taking responsibility for one’s actions. With all that being said, at the heart of this story is the message, “what is meant to be will always find its way.”
March 8, 2020
Lovely illustrations. Seemingly, page 23 contains a subtle error, which would prompt any bright child to ask for clarification. It is not possible to marry someone without a celebrant to conduct the marriage ceremony. So, one must ask what is being implied by the use of "married" in this part of the narrative. The continued narrative on page 24 will deepen any inquiry because the word choice of the previous page was deliberate after all. Consequently, the traditional Rapunzel story is purposely altered into a story about a pre-marital relationship producing illegitimate children. This revisionist tale is not recommended because of the questionable moral values being conveyed to young children.
June 12, 2019
Originally published in 1982, it's nice to see this classic retelling of the story of "Rapunzel" back out and fresh again. Rogasky weaves the words of the original story into a compelling tale, keeping true to the Grimm version in the main. Add that to award-winning artist Trina Schart Hyman's exquisite illustrations and you have a truly extraordinary book that will enchant lovers of fairy tales, old and young. As a school librarian I have many versions of fairy tales in my collection. Oddly, what's hard to find is a good version of the original story. (Fractured fairy tales abound.) This is a worthy addition to any collection.
June 24, 2023
Beautifully illustrated retelling of Rapunzel.
The story was told well, with clarity and panache (the only part I thought a bit silly was Rapunzel telling Mother Gothel about the prince supposedly by accident - but perhaps that was from one of the original tellings? I always remember Mother Gothel discovering it from her expanding pregnant waistline, but maybe that wasn't thought appropriate for children in this retelling). What really pushed this book up to 5 stars for me was the artwork. I loved the dense, atmospheric paintings with busy borders and tons of details (cultural, historical, natural worlds).
Would love to own this one!
The story was told well, with clarity and panache (the only part I thought a bit silly was Rapunzel telling Mother Gothel about the prince supposedly by accident - but perhaps that was from one of the original tellings? I always remember Mother Gothel discovering it from her expanding pregnant waistline, but maybe that wasn't thought appropriate for children in this retelling). What really pushed this book up to 5 stars for me was the artwork. I loved the dense, atmospheric paintings with busy borders and tons of details (cultural, historical, natural worlds).
Would love to own this one!
December 12, 2021
I've been reading several retellings of classic fairytales, all beautifully illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. This retelling of Rapunzel is no different. Almost all European fairytales, the original ones recorded by the Brothers Grim at least, are quite dark and not the typical fare for children. Nowadays, the classic European fairytales are watered down, for good reason, but I appreciate this retelling by Barbara Rogasky; she keeps the darker elements in tact. Trina Schart Hyman's artwork only enhances the story and darker themes, making for a gorgeous book.
May 2, 2019
A hunger for forbidden salad greens cost a wife and husband their baby daughter. In the dead of night, the husband raids the garden of the witch next door. When he’s discovered the witch demands their daughter in return. She snatches her away from them, and then imprisons her in a high tower surrounded by thorns in the depths of the forest.
Rogasky’s retelling is lively and Hyman’s illustrations are glorious.
Rogasky’s retelling is lively and Hyman’s illustrations are glorious.
October 28, 2020
Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite illustrators and this is some of her finest work (she was meant to do Rapunzel's luxurious tresses). Equally great adaptation by author Barbara Rogasky. I might add this one to our home library. The twins are so cute in this one!
May 22, 2017
great read by Paul Zelinsky and his books stand out from most children's book. Beautiful storytelling and beautiful art. this is a beautiful retelling of Rapunzel in a grim brothers way.
October 11, 2017
The book received the Caldecott award. This is a retold story of the Grimm brothers version. This teaches students that not everything ends happily ever after.
April 26, 2018
More text than I like in a picture book, though this is true for most fairy tales. The illustrations, however, are wonderful.
May 26, 2018
This is a classic story, great for all ages. Trapped in a tower, Rapunzel waits for the prince to save her.
January 19, 2019
My favorite retelling of Rapunzel, besides the YA "Zel." I had a student tell me he liked this better than Tangled... high praise.
April 4, 2019
Trina Schart Hyman is a master illustrator.
September 27, 2019
A gorgeously illustrated version of the classic fairy tale.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews