Synopsis
What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold? By order of the king, two boys, Tousle and Innes, must find the answer to this puzzling riddle within seven days or be killed. A former nursemaid to the queen’s child tells the boys that the banished queen may have the answer they seek. Danger presents itself at every turn, for the boys are pursued by the Great Barons, who are secretly plotting against the king. Another pursuer, the greedy King’s Grip, reveals a strange story of a little man who once spun straw into gold of incredible beauty for the queen but then disappeared with her firstborn son. Tousle realizes that the man he calls Da is the strange little man and, even more amazing, that he himself may be the lost prince. Or could it be Innes, who although cruelly blinded can hear the music of the dawn?
This skillful blend of fantasy and adventure reveals what might have happened before the queen makes her third and last guess and the story of Rumpelstiltskin—as we know it—ends.
VOYA
What if eleven years passed between the queen's eighth and ninth guesses of the name of the funny little man who spun straw into gold for her husband and king? Schmidt does a fine job of weaving the classic tale of Rumpelstiltskin into something fresh, diverse, and lovely. His story takes on the form of a quest for two young boys, Tousel, the foster son of a funny little man, and Innes, a blind beggar boy. Challenged by the king to answer the riddle, "What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold?", the two quickly realize that their seven-day deadline is a ruse. The king's men in pursuit intend to murder them. The boys journey to the abbey where the estranged queen resides, convinced that the answer to the riddle lies with her. Once they arrive there, will she recognize her son? Which one is her son? Schmidt's medieval-style setting is rich in detail. Filled with action and written in evocative language, it is a suspenseful story that will find a wide audience. The adolescent in search for self is a figure with universal appeal. This fantasy novel is weighty in its themes not only of identity but also of estrangement, truth, forgiveness, love, and value. More polished than Donna Jo Napoli's Spinners (Dutton, 1999) and a well-developed rival to Vivian Vande Velde's The Rumpelstiltskin Problem (Houghton Mifflin, 2000), Schmidt's rendition would be an excellent choice for a unit on fairy tale retellings. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Clarion, 172p, $15. Ages 11 to 18. Reviewer: BethGallaway SOURCE: VOYA, February 2002 (Vol. 24, No.6)