Rapunzel

by John Cech (Adapter), Fiona Sansom (Illustrator)

Thus begins John Cech's enchanting retelling of Rapunzel, the tale of a poor couple forced to surrender their newborn daughter to a powerful witch, all for having stolen some lettuce to satisfy the wife's unbearable hunger. And so the witch takes Rapunzel to a secluded tower, where the girl spends her days singing and braiding her long hair. Then, one day, a prince hears her sweet voice and everything changes…
Complete with fanciful illustrations by Fiona Sansom, this beautiful book belongs on every fairy tale lover's shelf.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Folklore, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2010

Reviews

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet retelling of the classic tale and I really enjoyed the art- sure to be a hit with little girls ages 3-6. Personally I thought this was an interesting twist, but I didn't identify so much with Rapunzel. I felt myself empathizing with the witch. One day an old lonely woman realizes that someone has been stealing food from her garden. She waits, and catches the man that has been crawling over her fence with the intention to repeatedly steal from her. Instead of turning him in and leaving his wife and child to die she demands his child in return for the food he would, and could continually take from her garden. The poor man agrees, mostly because he has no choice otherwise, but he also knows his baby will be malnourished without the witches food. When the child is born she takes her away and to a tower safe from the world with the intention of loving, caring, and providing for all of her needs- she wants to keep her protected. She loves her and cares for her as her own, and the child wants for nothing. In return the girl grows up, lets a boy repeatedly sneak into her "mother's" house and makes plans to run away with him. We all know how the story ends, but I honestly felt like Rapunzel was a bit of a spoiled brat and got rewarded for letting boys sneak over to her house without permission. You might like it, but that was just my take on the whole thing! Read and see what you think, you might end up really loving it!

[Presley Pendergrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this version that I read as a child and had nostalgia overload the story is darker than the Disney version and the artwork is stunning.

[Chrissy Muller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great adaptation of the story Rapunzel. The story I remember reading as a child was written by the Grimm Brothers, and from what I can tell, this story was pretty much on-par with that! The illustrations in this book were beautiful, they portrayed how luxurious, golden, and long Rapunzel's hair was, and the front, back, and both inside covers made a point of expressing how important her long hair was going to be in this story. After the story was over, in the back page of the book, the author listed various stories that Rapunzel was previously told as. He gave examples from France, Italy, and several others that gave me insight to the past of this seemingly traditional fairytale. I found it very interesting and charming that the author thought of including this information. It made me appreciate the story more knowing how long it has been told, and the meaning behind the actions of the witch. Great story with beautiful illustrations. I would definitely include this book in my classroom library!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much about this book that is outstanding. The first line -- you never know where a story will begin or end. This story begins with a head of lettuce; The warning to the readers not to promise "anything' because you don't know if it will be a promise you can keep; the beautiful illustrations. The sad beginning of the book, with the sickly mother to be, is offset by the prince falling out of the window, rather than throwing himself out of it in despair. Finally, the author's note is fascinating. The fact that this story dates to at least 1637 (the first published version), and that the Italian and French versions have the pregnant woman craving parsley, and that there are Greek, Egyptian and a Kentucky mountain version is simply fascinating.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Rapunzel" by John Cech retells this classic story beautifully. The author immediately catches the audiences attention by straying away from the usual beginning of "Once Upon a Time." The illustrations are vibrant, which helps to emphasize Rapunzel's long golden hair. The ending is a little different than the typical version of this fairytale. Rapunzel meets her birth parents again after returning to the Prince's palace. I liked this ending because it helped to tie together all of the loose ends in the story.

[Juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

My experience with this story has always been the Disney version, so I didn't really know what to expect with this fairy tale. The illustrations are well done and the story is interesting, but nothing really happens to the bad guy which is kind of unusual in a fairy tale and it felt a little lacking in that regard. Otherwise, a good read.

[GoldenjoyBazyll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this particular book because at the end there is a history of the story explaining how this has been told in different countries like France/ Italy/ Greece/ etc and gave reasons for why a story like this might have been told in the first place.

Very interesting!

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story. Everything about it was perfect the story line, the wording was easy enough for little kids to read. And the artist really pulls you in and everything was so detailed and beautiful I loved it!!

[Julianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a nice classic telling of the story of Rapunzel, which is good, but it lacked creativity, and the illustrations were not as pleasing as other picture books that I have read and enjoyed. The cover was nice, however, and the story line stayed true to the tale we all know and love.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures were nice but the story missed some important details, like Rapunzel getting pregnant by the prince while still in the tower. It is an important part of the original tale. And what was that nonsense about her parents finding her.

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the illustrations plus re-telling of this class tale. The book also includes a brief history of how Rapunzel came to be as a folktale. Sure to be a future classic book.

[janie love · Rating 3 out of 5]

like it

[Natasha North · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Cech's retelling but prefer the illustrations in Zelinsky's version.