Zelinksy, Paul, O. Rapunzel. 1997. New York: Dutton Children’s Book.
This Caldecott Medal award winning fairy tale is a variant of the traditional Rapunzel story. The characters differ from the traditional telling a bit, but one will recognize the evil sorceress although she is presented as a mother figure to Rapunzel. In this story, Rapunzel’s parents give Rapunzel to the sorceress - a condition for the herbs Rapunzel's mother craved during her pregnancy. The sorceress places Rapunzel in the tower to protect her from the world. One day it was not the sorceress who request Rapunzel to "let down her hair" – it was the king’s son.
Both the illustrations and the writing makes this book more suitable for an older child. Zelinksy uses oil paintings to “evoke the portraits, sculpture, architecture, and light-filled landscapes of Renaissance art. The costumes are lavish, the interiors intricate.”1 The inference that Rapunzel is pregnant is achieved through repetition; Zelinsky uses the phrase the "dress growing tight around her waist" to reveal that Rapunzel's mother was pregnant with her and to infer that Rapunzel is pregnant as well. Another example of repetition is when Rapunzel’s father searches "ten times, twenty times" for a means to access the sorceress’ garden and the prince searches for an entry to the tower a "ten times, twenty times" as well. Rapunzel is banished to "the wild country" for her sin. Both the prince and Rapunzel spend a year in the wilderness before they find each other and return home with their two children. The archetypical overtones suggest a purification that must occur before the two can live "a long life, happy and content."
Both the illustrations and the writing makes this book more suitable for an older child. Zelinksy uses oil paintings to “evoke the portraits, sculpture, architecture, and light-filled landscapes of Renaissance art. The costumes are lavish, the interiors intricate.”1 The inference that Rapunzel is pregnant is achieved through repetition; Zelinsky uses the phrase the "dress growing tight around her waist" to reveal that Rapunzel's mother was pregnant with her and to infer that Rapunzel is pregnant as well. Another example of repetition is when Rapunzel’s father searches "ten times, twenty times" for a means to access the sorceress’ garden and the prince searches for an entry to the tower a "ten times, twenty times" as well. Rapunzel is banished to "the wild country" for her sin. Both the prince and Rapunzel spend a year in the wilderness before they find each other and return home with their two children. The archetypical overtones suggest a purification that must occur before the two can live "a long life, happy and content."
I suggest that you read through this book before you share it with little ones who may be excited to read it due to Disney's Tangled. Although the illustrations are stunning, Rapunzel is kicked out of the tower because the Sorceress views Rapunzel's pregnancy as a betrayal. If you have a curious child who asks lots of questions, there may be more to explain than what you may want to. Luckily my nearly 4 year old is too young to question, so I didn't mind reading this book to her over and over and over...
Notes:
1 Rochman, Hazel. “Rapunzel.” Booklist OnLine. (Nov. 15, 1997). Accessed June 19, 2011. http://www.booklistonline.com/Rapunzel-Paul-O-Zelinsky/pid=156230.
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