Really, Rapunzel Needed a Haircut!: The Story of Rapunzel as Told by Dame Gothel

The Other Side of the Story

by Jessica S. Gunderson, Denis Alonso (Illustrator)

OF COURSE you think I was a horrible old witch, locking fair haired Rapunzel in that tall, tall tower. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Retellings, Fiction

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2013

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

Nice to see the other side of the story and very cleverly written. Great book for children, especially if they read it and compare it to the original story

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a girl called Rapunzel and the woman who raised her. A sad little story that was told very well.

[Michelle Moore]

"Today we are going to continue our work with fractured fairy tales. I have brought one more story to share with you. This one is called "Really, Rapunzel Needed a Haircut!: The Story of Rapunzel as Told by Dame Gothel" and it's written by Jessica Gunderson. This is a fun fractured fairy tale to read. Which fairy tale do you think it's based on?" Student response. "Yes, Rapunzel, whose name is even in the title. Do you think this lady with the scissors is Rapunzel?" "We have some clues that tell us that she is not Rapunzel. For one, her hair is up in a bun, but if you look in the background you can see a a tower with Rapunzel's long hair hanging down to the ground. Now does anyone remember what is significant about Rapunzel's hair? What happened in the fairy tale about her?" Student responses. "Do we hear much about her mother in the story? We don't get a lot of information about her, except that she locked Rapunzel into a tower and seems like a mean person. This story is told from her mother's point of view. Her name is Dame Gothel and she is the one telling her story. You may change your thinking once you hear her side of the story. Sometimes, authors like to make you think in another way. Listen to this story carefully and let's see how Gunderson changes our thinking.

Opening Moves:
Making Connections-Rapunzel
Questioning
Point of View
Compare and Contrast

Rationale:
This story demonstrates to the students that they can even change which character is telling the story. This is another style of fractured fairy tale in which another character tells "the true story of" in which they can have a lot of fun getting creative with.

[Maria Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, Rapunzel needed a haircut by Jessica Gunderson and illustrated by Denis Alonso is told by Dame Gothel (witch’s perspective). I found this book at my school library and it is available at Barnes and Noble, Kobo and local libraries.

This version is similar to the other versions. Rapunzel is raised by Dame Gothel. In this version it is being told from Dame Gothel’s point of view( witch). The story showed how Dame always felt lonely and that's why she made a deal with the couple and raised Rapunzel as her own. At first I thought it was going to be a nicer version of the witch but then it mentioned she cut Rapunzel's hair to avoid her from seeing the prince. The prince was tricked by the witch and fell from the tower with the hair that was cut. On the next page It didn’t say how Rapunzel left the tower so I felt that could've been added and not skipped. You had to infer what happened.

I recommend this book to students from 2nd to 3rd grade because it is a fast read. This book has critical thinking questions at the end that are connected to the Common Core. Some questions are about comparing and contrasting the story and main idea and details.

I will use this story to compare and contrast different versions of the Rapunzel fairy tale to show how stories are similar and different.

[Carol (Yuanqing) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book at my local library just browsing for different retellings of Rapunzel. This picture book depicts the series of events that happened from Gothel's point of view. The story is really more targeted to younger kids (K-2) and takes us through how all of the causes and effects that happen in the traditional tale, were really Rapunzel's own fault. It doesn't portray Gothel as manipulative or with bad intentions but show how everything that happened really was just an accident, and Gothel was just trying to look out for Rapunzel who is depicted as bratty and spoiled in this recantation.

I can see how kids would find this book funny and charming, and it would be a good introduction to perspective and thinking about what the person traditionally marked as the villain would be thinking. This book reminds me The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, although not as creative with the illustrations or the plot.

[Clover Blaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Ratings for People Too Busy to Read Someone’s Opinion of a Book That They’re Sure to Disagree With Anyway. (Yes, this title is long but the rating is not.)

Initial Impression: The witch was simply an entrepreneur.
Pictures: Exaggerated, funny.
Characters: The witch was just being a good mom to her naive adopted daughter.
Plot: The witch explains why Rapunzel was being used for her hair.
One Line Summary: Rapunzel—as ungrateful as she is—has no idea what her adopted mom went through to protect her hairstyle.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

All she wanted was to keep people from trying to steal Rapunzel and use her hair for wigs. So naturally, the best way to do that is to lock her in a tower, right? No one can get to her hair. So how was I supposed to react when Rapunzel told me that some prince was climbing up to visit her. I admit. I panicked. “He’s going to steal you away from me!” Isn’t that what any good mother would do? I don’t deserve to be locked up in a tower ... oh wait.

I just love this series. They are so good at teaching students about point of view and voice.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the theme of Another Point of View and am delighted to have discovered this series. I believe it's important children learn empathy - and if they can giggle while doing so, and share stories with their families, too, well, all the better! Includes back matter.

This particular episode is more 'fractured' than 'another pov.' The story is changed too much for me, and it rubs me the wrong way, especially the ending. But, again, the back matter is terrific. And I do highly recommend any other story in the series (at least of the ones that I've read).

[Set · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that Rapunzel had red hair from eating all those radishes. Her name is Rapunzel because her father sold his first born to sell the Rapunzel at the farmers market. Witch Gothel is a pretty nice mom except that she cut Rapunzel's hair in a fit of rage, I thought she over did it a lot. This is the story of Rapunzel as told by the witch and to her own defense.

[Chloe Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book in the series

I have enjoyed every book I’ve read in this series so far, this book included. This book is more interesting than some of the others I’ve read, because hearing different opinions can change the story, but in this story the witch still behaved in a clearly wrong way. I definitely do not have a good opinion of Rapunzal’s farther.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

The witch was lonely and saved Rapunzel from villagers who wanted to steal her hair for wigs. What a great excuse to hide her in the tower, huh? This book is another great version to discuss point of view. I would recommend it for Grades 1-3.

[Jemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very interesting, since the story of Rapunzel is told from Dame Gothel's perspective. The story is mostly the same, but we see how Rapunzel is an annoying child and how Dame Gothel is trying to protect her.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Er, it's okay but not as engaging as some of the others. although the villagers wanting Rapunzel's hair for a wig was an interesting twist.
Recommended? sure, if you've read all the others
Buy/Borrow? Borrow

[Yvonne Ogunmakinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay but a bit to short it sounded just like the traditional Repunzel story but with a few twist and turns

I chose this rating because it was okay but I would not recommend it to another person it is to short

[Tessa Zimmerly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: fiction/traditional literature
Grade: PK-3rd

A fun twist to the story of Rapunzel. Knowing different perspectives can really change the way you view a story. This book was creative and silly and I think students would love to have this book in their classroom library.

[Rebecca Brockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. I love how it is not mean...

Good book. I love how it is not mean and it has a positive message. I love repunzel'z mother she is really pretty and repunzel to. Love,
Sydney & Rebecca!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, Rapunzel Needed a Haircut!: The Story of Rapunzel as Told by Dame Gothel (The Other Side of the Story) by Jessica Gunderson – This is why you should always put a secret door in your tower! Love these twisted tales! Happy Reading!

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite fun. This is told in the point of view of the witch/Dame Gothel from the Rapunzel fairytale, and it’s nothing like I had imagined or expected. There truly are two sides to every story.

[Shyla Colt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick , silly, retelling of the classic Rapunzel tale.

[Jenalee Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read for perspective and feelings.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read, loved the illustrations. so fun!!

[Jesa Burgoyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

April's Wheel of TBR
Read a retelling

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just okay.

[Rida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, they keep getting funnier and funnier

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

A cute abbreviated retelling of Rapunzel from Mother Gothel's POV. I think this book would have been better by adding more details, not glossing over some information as it did.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny! A neat spin on a classic.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A twist on the Rapunzel story.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been influenced. I'm on the witch's side.

[Jessie Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny! Great read. I loved the retelling from Gothel’s perspective.

[Slipperyvowels · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a twist!

How interesting. I would have never thoyght of that. Sorry that back fired on the witch like that. She just didn't want to be lonely.