Rumpelstiltskin

Zelinsky, Paul O. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Dutton’s Children’s books. ISBN 0525442650

Plot Summary

A retelling of the classic tale of the miller’s daughter who is rumored to have the ability to spin straw into gold. When the greedy king gets wind of this unique talent, he takes her to his castle, locks her in a room filled with straw, expecting spools of gold by morning. Hearing the sobs of the maiden, a strange little man agrees to help her, in exchange for valuable objects. After several nights of this, she has nothing left to bargain, but the strange little man asks for her first-born child. When the day comes that she is supposed to hand over her sweet baby, only one thing can save her. Will she have to honor her agreement? Or will the little man’s pride be his undoing?

Critical analysis

Author/Illustrator Paul Zelinsky draws the reader into this tale starting with the inside cover of the book. The rolling hills by the seaside, cottages nestled in wooden glens, the quaint village clustered in the valley, the mill along the flowing stream—all helps to transport the reader to a fairy-tale land somewhere in Europe.

The story itself is told simply in the traditional style from the first line (“Once there was a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter. . .”) to the last (“And he was never heard from again.”). The characters are fairly one-dimensional, the stock characters common to traditional tales. The plot line of the story is not complicated by delving into the characters’ motivations (what would a strange little man do with a baby?) or the plausibility of their actions (how exactly does one spin straw into gold?) but maintains the focus of the odd relationship between the miller’s daughter and the strangle little man.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful. Each page is a work of art. The style of them reminds me of paintings from the renaissance, which helps to connect the story to its European roots. The muted jeweled tones, the renaissance architecture shown in the columns and arches, the draping costumes, and the rosy, cherub-faced characters all lead the reader deeper and deeper into the tale. Zelinsky also includes ample white space to help focus the eye on the richly-illustrated setting.

The eponymous character, Rumpelstiltskin, is depicted as a beak-nosed, pointy-chinned, bug-eyed, bony, angular, small man.  While the reader may initially have a modicum of affection for the strange fellow for helping the maiden in distress, that is soon wiped out by the man’s unreasonable demands. By the time he is ready to fly off on his wooden spoon, the reader is ready to cheer with the queen!

Professional Praise

Caldecott Honor Book (1987)

From Publisher’s Weekly: “Rumpelstiltskin is a tour de force by an immensely talented artist. Zelinsky is that rare practitioner who can create sophisticated work that adults will marvel at, and that children will joyfully embrace.”

From New York Times Book Review: "Adult and child can delight together in the richness of color, gilt and detail...captured in such art. The story is palinly and gracefully told."

Connections

Other books by Paul O. Zelinsky:

Rapunzel (2002) ISBN 978-0590386029

Hansel and Gretel (retold by Rika Lesser, illus. by Paul Zelinsky) (1999) ISBN 978-0525461524

Other retellings of Rumpelstiltskin:

Rumpelstiltskin, by Parragon Books (2012) ISBN 978-1781866085

Rumpelstiltskin, by Paul Galdone (2013) ISBN 978-0544066922