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Rapunzel
A prince tries to help a beautiful young woman escape from the witch who holds her captive in a tower without doors or stairs
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 20, 2017
There's not much positive I can find to say about this rendition of "Rapunzel," because I didn't consider the text all that good as it could've been, and the art isn't much to my liking either and I didn't think it enhanced the text so well.
September 23, 2024
This was a fairly straightforward retelling of Rapunzel.
In this version, rapunzels are "tender radish plants" and the wife craves them because she can see them over the wall (I prefer the versions where her cravings are subsequent to her pregnancy, although perhaps this is meant to be the case as the child is born a few months later). Rapunzel has beautiful long gold hair and is taken away to the tower at the age of 12. The prince is drawn to her beautiful singing. In this version, Rapunzel stupidly calls the witch slow and clumsy compared with the prince and the witch cuts off her hair and takes her to a lonely place in the middle of nowwhere, to live or die. The prince leaps off the tower himself when he hears he will never see Rapunzel again and wanders blind for years before he is drawn to her singing. With his sight restored by her tears, they return to his kingdom and live happily ever after. There are no attempts to explain some of the elements of the story (like why the witch wants Rapunzel, etc.)
Apart from the cover image of Rapunzel combing her hair (not repeated inside the story), I found the illustrations quite dull. The colour palette was muted and the characters faces changed quite a lot between images so they weren't really recognisable (e.g. the prince at one point has a long thin nose but later it is painted significantly upturned at the end. The witch wears a wimple and although the clothes are patterned the colours are muted.
For me this was a fairly average retelling.
In this version, rapunzels are "tender radish plants" and the wife craves them because she can see them over the wall (I prefer the versions where her cravings are subsequent to her pregnancy, although perhaps this is meant to be the case as the child is born a few months later). Rapunzel has beautiful long gold hair and is taken away to the tower at the age of 12. The prince is drawn to her beautiful singing. In this version, Rapunzel stupidly calls the witch slow and clumsy compared with the prince and the witch cuts off her hair and takes her to a lonely place in the middle of nowwhere, to live or die. The prince leaps off the tower himself when he hears he will never see Rapunzel again and wanders blind for years before he is drawn to her singing. With his sight restored by her tears, they return to his kingdom and live happily ever after. There are no attempts to explain some of the elements of the story (like why the witch wants Rapunzel, etc.)
Apart from the cover image of Rapunzel combing her hair (not repeated inside the story), I found the illustrations quite dull. The colour palette was muted and the characters faces changed quite a lot between images so they weren't really recognisable (e.g. the prince at one point has a long thin nose but later it is painted significantly upturned at the end. The witch wears a wimple and although the clothes are patterned the colours are muted.
For me this was a fairly average retelling.
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October 29, 2025My daughter loves Rapunzel, and I have been collecting and reading various versions of it to her. It has become something of a niche interest for me. This version was in my own childhood collection, gifted to us by my mother. It's a fairly straightforward Brothers Grimm retelling with nice, hand-drawn illustrations. I especially like the page when the prince and Rapunzel are reunited and she cries her tears on him. The writing is clear and easy to read. A good one.
July 4, 2019
One of my favorite books as a child! I actually found it on my shelf and had my name and the date (1989) scribbled inside. I remember reading this over and over on a long car trip with my grandparents. Such a nice revisit!
August 31, 2024
My favorite fairytale! I want to collect many editions of the tale I like the artwork. And the word choices are good for beginners.
January 11, 2014
I gave this three stars for the exact same reason I gave Rumpelstiltskin three stars: nothing jumped out at me. It was exactly like the Rapunzel fairy tale I read for this class and the artwork didn't really impress me. It just seemed....normal. Sure, I love the story of Rapunzel, but it's not one of my favorite fairy tales.
October 24, 2012
A classic version of Rapunzel. Although it is they typical version, the live happily ever after, it is a different spin. The illustrations were not the best but it was a cute story. Overall a good book but not my favorite.
March 26, 2013
This is the classic story or Rapunzel. I love this story and I feel like I finally got to learn the back story when I read this. I like the idea of her name coming from the plant the pregnant mother ate. This story would be good to read when addressing folklore or fairytales.
November 14, 2013
I read this when I was about six and I loved it so much, my teacher let me bring it home. I have kept it ever since. The pictures are beautiful which I think that's one of the best things about faerie tales, the pictures. Absolutely delightful.
January 25, 2016
This has the really wicked witch and the young prince who ends up blind after the witch cuts her braid and lures in the prince. But the prince still finds her in the forest. Different from the Disney, but tis to be expected
August 21, 2013
One of my favorite fairytale retellings as a child!
May 10, 2010
The classic story of Rapunzel.
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November 1, 20161 Copy
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews