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Children - Fiction & Literature, Children - Fairy Tales, Myths & Fables
Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter by Diane Stanley β€” book cover

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter

by Diane Stanley, Diane Stanley (Illustrator), Brothers Grimm
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Overview

0nce upon a time a miller's daughter was given an impossible task by a cruel and greedy king. She had to spin straw into gold. And who should show up to help her but an odd little man named Rumpelstiltskin.

According to tradition, the gold-bedazzled king and the miller's daughter are wed. But wait just a minute! This king is definitely not husband material, and there's someone else who isβ€”a hardworking guy who's supportive and nice looking, and who really comes through in a pinch.

Why not marry Rumpelstiltskin?

In Diane Stanley's merry rethinking of the traditional tale, Rumpelstiltskin and the miller's daughter are wed...and then sixteen years later their only daughter is stuck in the same dilemma: She's been locked in a room full of straw to spin for a greedy king! She could call for help from her father, but this fairy-tale heroine has some canny plans of her own.

How Rumpelstiltskin's daughter sets things to rights in the troubled kingdom, while achieving a unique place for herself, makes for a wise and witty tale of kindness and cleverness rewarded. Diane Stanley's wickedly funny text and zesty illustrations put a delightful new spin on a classic fairy tale.

Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.

2000-2001 Georgia's Picture Storybook Award & Georgia's Children's Book Award Masterlist
01-02 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 3-6)
99-00 Children's Book Award

Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.

Synopsis

0nce upon a time a miller's daughter was given an impossible task by a cruel and greedy king. She had to spin straw into gold. And who should show up to help her but an odd little man named Rumpelstiltskin.

According to tradition, the gold-bedazzled king and the miller's daughter are wed. But wait just a minute! This king is definitely not husband material, and there's someone else who is — a hardworking guy who's supportive and nice looking, and who really comes through in a pinch.

Why not marry Rumpelstiltskin?

In Diane Stanley's merry rethinking of the traditional tale, Rumpelstiltskin and the miller's daughter are wed...and then sixteen years later their only daughter is stuck in the same dilemma: She's been locked in a room full of straw to spin for a greedy king! She could call for help from her father, but this fairy-tale heroine has some canny plans of her own.

How Rumpelstiltskin's daughter sets things to rights in the troubled kingdom, while achieving a unique place for herself, makes for a wise and witty tale of kindness and cleverness rewarded. Diane Stanley's wickedly funny text and zesty illustrations put a delightful new spin on a classic fairy tale.

Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.

2000-2001 Georgia's Picture Storybook Award & Georgia's Children's Book Award Masterlist
01-02 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 3-6)
99-00 Children's Book Award

Publishers Weekly

This miller's daughter can't imagine why anyone would want to marry the money-loving king, and proposes marriage to the short little man who has saved her life. In a starred review, PW said, "Stanley blazes a new path for herself in this effervescent revisionist fairy tale, and the results are stunning." Ages 5-up. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Diane Stanley

Diane Stanley is the author and illustrator of many award-winning books for young readers. Her novels include the critically acclaimed Bella at Midnight, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and an ALA Booklist Editors' Choice, The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy, The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine, and A Time Apart. Well known as the author and illustrator of award-winning picture-book biographies, she is the recipient of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children and the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for the body of her work.

Ms. Stanley has also written and illustrated numerous picture books, including three creatively imagined fairy tales:The Giant and the Beanstalk, Goldie and the Three Bears, and Rumpelstiltskin's Saughter. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Stanley blazes a new path for herself in this effervescent revisionist fairy tale, and the results are as stunning as her best picture-book biographies Leonardo da Vinci; Bard of Avon. Here she brings her meticulous illustrator's eye for detail to bear upon a fantasy kingdom that exists somewhere between Versailles and high farce, projecting an ornately imagined setting for a tale that scores a few serious points as it pokes fun at a nursery room favorite. This miller's daughter can't imagine why anyone would want to marry the money-loving king, and she feels grateful for the short little man who has saved her life by spinning straw into gold. When he bargains for her firstborn child, she is only to glad to counter-offer with a proposal of marriage "I like your ideas on parenting, you'd make a good provider, and I have a weakness for short men". Sixteen years later, the couple's daughter proves equally independent-minded when the king approaches her. The art is even more winning than the story: the king's palace is filled with famous works of art, e.g., the Mona Lisa, all featuring the vain monarch in place of their actual subjects; spreads spoof the Trs Riches Heures-and the prevailing loony lavishness will tickle those who don't get the visual allusions. A 24-karat prize. Ages 5-up. Apr.

Publishers Weekly

This miller's daughter can't imagine why anyone would want to marry the money-loving king, and proposes marriage to the short little man who has saved her life. In a starred review, PW said, "Stanley blazes a new path for herself in this effervescent revisionist fairy tale, and the results are stunning." Ages 5-up. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

In this delightful retelling of a favorite fairy tale, author/illustrator Stanley has the Miller's daughter marrying Rumplestilskin, after all he was the one who helped her and the king certainly wasn't any prize. Happily wed, they have a daughter who ends up in the clutches of the same greedy king with a demand to spin straw into gold. This spunky girl manages to outwit the king, bring prosperity to his subjects, and have a happy future. The illustrations are expansive spreads with varying perspectives, wonderful detail and rich colors. Humor abounds in the expressions, clothing, and lots of little touches (art work on the palace walls, post cards on the title page). It is a great story and fun for girls and boys, especially older kids.

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman

Diane Stanley brings us a new version of Rumplestiltskin with an ending many of us would have preferred. In this version, the original miller's daughter rejects the greedy king and marries the little man instead! 16 years later their daughter finds herself in the same straits as her mother but she has a plan or two of her own to change the dreary lives of everyone in the King's kingdom. When the King finally decides to make the girl his queen, she opts for becoming "Prime Minister," smart girl! The King's costumes are opulently comic.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4This tongue-in-cheek update of Rumpelstiltskin is a rollicking and irreverent spoof in which the miller's daughter marries Rumpelstiltskin because she likes his ideas on parenting and has a weakness for short men. When their daughter turns 16, they want her to see the world beyond their simple country life and send her to exchange some gold coins at the town market. When the greedy king, the same one from the original story, hears of a girl who can "make gold," the scenario is repeated. Imprisoned in the tower to spin straw into gold, the clever girl uses her wits to outsmart the ostentatious king by telling him her grandfather used to "grow" gold. Her twofold plan results in feeding and clothing the poor beleaguered subjects of the kingdom and her becoming prime minister. The comical, exaggerated illustrations feature bug-eyed characters, outlandish costumes for the foppish king, woven borders that frame the action, and humorous details like parodies of famous paintings. Stanley has spun 24-karat fun.Julie Cummins, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4--The feisty offspring of the miller's daughter and Rumpelstiltskin outwits the greedy king, who is still intent on having more riches. No fool's gold here-Stanley spins pure fun. March

Book Details

Published
June 1, 2002
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
32
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780064410953

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