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Rapunzel: Based on the Original Story by the Brothers Grimm
Beautiful Rapunzel is locked away in a tall, tall tower, visited only by the little creatures of the forest and the witch who has imprisoned her. Until one day a handsome prince, passing by on his horse, is transfixed by the magical sound of Rapunzel singing to her animals friends and knows he must reach her... Can true love transform Rapunzel's life forever?
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
13 people are currently reading
537 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
April 9, 2017
I almost gave this a miss because it is so so pink, but actually the illustrations are lovely. Gibb alternates between standard-style illustrations reminiscent of Jane Ray and Barbara Cooney and silhouettes a la Jan Pienlowski. The color pages are beautiful and detailed, and the silhouettes convey an impressive degree of emotion.
The text is not noteworthy, pretty standard from-the-Grimms adaptation, pregnancy elided.
... but I still could've used less pink.
March 26, 2020
Delightful illustrations and narrative!
Ages: 5 - 8
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Ages: 5 - 8
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!
August 10, 2016
The story is very close to the original Brothers Grimm fairytale minus the out-of-wedlock pregnancy and twins so it was pretty much your average Rapunzel story.
The illustrations were beautiful, especially the silhouette style of art. Gibb doesn't draw faces terribly well, but she does well enough. And there was one panel that the people were supposed to be horrified, but they mostly just looked like they were pulling out some wicked dance moves. (Jazz hands, yeah!)
The illustrations were beautiful, especially the silhouette style of art. Gibb doesn't draw faces terribly well, but she does well enough. And there was one panel that the people were supposed to be horrified, but they mostly just looked like they were pulling out some wicked dance moves. (Jazz hands, yeah!)
December 30, 2017
5 stars for the beautiful illustrations, 2 for the story.
I read this to my newborn today, and while she didn't have much to say about it beyond growling, I loved the illustrations. The story is pretty standard Rapunzel, except there are animal helpers and Rapunzel has no babies. Yay for animal helps, always, but I would've liked a little more inventiveness to go into the story. However, it's well worth reading for the pictures, and I'll keep this for when Marian is older and might appreciate the illustrations a bit more. :)
I read this to my newborn today, and while she didn't have much to say about it beyond growling, I loved the illustrations. The story is pretty standard Rapunzel, except there are animal helpers and Rapunzel has no babies. Yay for animal helps, always, but I would've liked a little more inventiveness to go into the story. However, it's well worth reading for the pictures, and I'll keep this for when Marian is older and might appreciate the illustrations a bit more. :)
August 11, 2011
I must admit that I usually mentally shrug when new versions of classic fairy tales are released. There are so many versions out there, that it takes something special to get my attention. Well, Gibb’s new Rapunzel is special indeed. She takes the classic story and simplifies it without losing any of the romance or drama of the original. There are no parts of the story that will be missed, somehow she edited and simplified without any loss of plot points. That alone is rather brilliantly done.
But then add in the remarkable illustrations that are delicate, romantic and simply lovely. They create a world that readers are happy to enter and to linger in. They include small details that are very engaging. I found myself looking at tiny details with the book up close to my face, just absorbed by the world Gibbs created in this book. The illustrations move from pink and rosy to dark and mysterious, even threatening. Gibbs uses colors very effectively as well as silhouettes. Just when readers get used to the silhouette illustrations, you turn the page for an airy illustration of Rapunzel’s tower. Turn the page again, and you are journeying through an amazing forest with the prince. It’s a world that embraces, changes, and creates such moods.
Highly recommended. If you are going to read one new version of a fairy tale this year, choose this one. Remarkable. Appropriate for ages 5-8, and older romantics.
But then add in the remarkable illustrations that are delicate, romantic and simply lovely. They create a world that readers are happy to enter and to linger in. They include small details that are very engaging. I found myself looking at tiny details with the book up close to my face, just absorbed by the world Gibbs created in this book. The illustrations move from pink and rosy to dark and mysterious, even threatening. Gibbs uses colors very effectively as well as silhouettes. Just when readers get used to the silhouette illustrations, you turn the page for an airy illustration of Rapunzel’s tower. Turn the page again, and you are journeying through an amazing forest with the prince. It’s a world that embraces, changes, and creates such moods.
Highly recommended. If you are going to read one new version of a fairy tale this year, choose this one. Remarkable. Appropriate for ages 5-8, and older romantics.
February 29, 2012
My first post in two months and it is about a picture book that my mother waited in line for an hour to get me at ALA. This is a very pink book, not exactly my usual but the art is just so gorgeous I couldn’t help but want it. A mix of silhouettes and textures that seem almost tactile make for an elegant impression. The illustrations are simple enough to draw in the very young but detailed enough to catch the eye of someone of any age. The style feels very modern but at the same time perfectly represents the classic nature of the tale.
Edit: I looked back at this post and just had to tell a little more about my mother waiting in line to buy this book. Apparently there was a woman who came up a few minutes before they were supposed to be selling. Now you have to understand my mother had been standing there for an hour “in line” but it just happened to be a line that consisted only of her. So she had been talking to the women running the booth. Well this other woman came up and had apparently promised this book to her small child. She just assumed she would get what she want. She offered to pay my mother for the book. My mother didn’t back down and after the woman left the booth ladies congratulated her on not backing down. Gave her the book and another one. My Rapunzel was hard fought for.
Edit: I looked back at this post and just had to tell a little more about my mother waiting in line to buy this book. Apparently there was a woman who came up a few minutes before they were supposed to be selling. Now you have to understand my mother had been standing there for an hour “in line” but it just happened to be a line that consisted only of her. So she had been talking to the women running the booth. Well this other woman came up and had apparently promised this book to her small child. She just assumed she would get what she want. She offered to pay my mother for the book. My mother didn’t back down and after the woman left the booth ladies congratulated her on not backing down. Gave her the book and another one. My Rapunzel was hard fought for.
June 30, 2011
Very pretty illustrations in an intricate pink way. Though this is based on the original Grimm story, parts have been prettied up for the reading audience. Especially the fact that the girl's pregnancy is left out and Rapunzel's real parents find her at the end. For the kids looking to read the tale after encountering Tangled, the look and feel of this will be fairly in keeping with the movie, though the story of Tangled departs quite a bit from the original tale.
My fave Rapunzel story has to be be Shannon Hale's wild west graphic novel version, but this one should appeal to the gals who like fairy tale princess stories. The art is indeed lovely and the silhouetted images are really remarkable.
One nit picky issue I have is with the illustration of the witch climbing Rapunzel's hair. The picture shows Rapunzel's remarkable braid trailing only partway down the tower, leading me to wonder how the witch got up high enough to reach the hair. It's a little thing, but it did bug me.
My fave Rapunzel story has to be be Shannon Hale's wild west graphic novel version, but this one should appeal to the gals who like fairy tale princess stories. The art is indeed lovely and the silhouetted images are really remarkable.
One nit picky issue I have is with the illustration of the witch climbing Rapunzel's hair. The picture shows Rapunzel's remarkable braid trailing only partway down the tower, leading me to wonder how the witch got up high enough to reach the hair. It's a little thing, but it did bug me.
September 27, 2016
A gorgeous version of Rapunzel, with lavish care given to every sleeve, flower, and brick, making the entire book pop with color – and making the silhouetted parts that much more dramatic laid against the bright, twining details.
The text is a little more robust than your average Grimm retelling, giving more closure than the original on some parts, and sanding away some of the rougher bits to fit the charming tone of the illustrations.
December 12, 2015
Faithful rendition of the fairy tale with a few tweaks. I particularly like how the "heroine gets along with animals" classic trope is put to use.
Done up with lovely art -- a mix of delicate and delicately colored illustrations, with fine and detailed silhouettes (with a few splashes of color.)
Done up with lovely art -- a mix of delicate and delicately colored illustrations, with fine and detailed silhouettes (with a few splashes of color.)
October 28, 2023
I found this book of Rapunzel by Sarah Gibb at the library, looking at different versions of Rapunzel for my Youth Literature graduate class. I picked this book because of the great illustrations on the cover of the book and the fact that it says that it is based on the original story by The Brother Grimm. This story closely follows the original story of Rapunzel.
A man and his wife really wanted to have a baby. Once the wife becomes pregnant, she becomes sick, and she craves to have some of the sweet green leaves from the witch’s garden next store. Her husband obliges her and sneaks into the garden to get her some. When the witch catches him, she says he can have the sweet green leaves as long as she gets their baby when it is born. When the baby is born, the witch comes to collect on the deal. She takes the baby to a secret castle and names her Rapunzel. When the witch sees how all the forest creatures love Rapunzel, she decides to move Rapunzel to a tower deep in the woods that has no door so that no one would be able to find her. Rapunzel lived like that for years until, one day, a prince ventured deep into the forest and heard Rapunzel singing outside of her window high up in the tower. The prince saw how the witch asked Rapunzel to lower her hair so that she could climb up it to enter the castle. Once the witch left, the prince tried the same thing, and Rapunzel let down her hair. This went on for some time until Rapunzel made a mistake and mentioned him to the witch. The witch cut Rapunzel’s hair and took her deep into the woods in hopes that she would get lost or starve. When the prince came to see Rapunzel, the witch used the hair that she cut off to trick him and get him high in the tower. Once she did, she pushed him out, and he landed on a thorn bush, which left him blind. The animals help the prince and Rapunzel find each other. Rapunzel’s tears helped cure the princess's blindness, so he was able to lead them both back to his castle. The two got married, and Rapunzel was reunited with her parents.
The illustrations in this book definitely added to the story. On some pages, the words take up most of the page, and the illustrations wrap around the words, adding in some detail. On other pages, there are only pictures that show the readers a lot. Gibb uses bright colors and black silhouettes to show the good vs evil of this story. The witch is also always in a silhouette in the pictures, and the reader never fully sees what she looks like.
This book would be good to teach students about traditional literature or fairytales. It has a lot of elements of different genres, such as good vs evil, royalty, magic, and a happy ending. This book would be good to use to compare to other versions of Rapunzel and talk about what is different and why that may be. It could also be used as a writing activity for students to write about whether the witch was evil in this story or if the husband was evil for stealing from her in the first place.
A man and his wife really wanted to have a baby. Once the wife becomes pregnant, she becomes sick, and she craves to have some of the sweet green leaves from the witch’s garden next store. Her husband obliges her and sneaks into the garden to get her some. When the witch catches him, she says he can have the sweet green leaves as long as she gets their baby when it is born. When the baby is born, the witch comes to collect on the deal. She takes the baby to a secret castle and names her Rapunzel. When the witch sees how all the forest creatures love Rapunzel, she decides to move Rapunzel to a tower deep in the woods that has no door so that no one would be able to find her. Rapunzel lived like that for years until, one day, a prince ventured deep into the forest and heard Rapunzel singing outside of her window high up in the tower. The prince saw how the witch asked Rapunzel to lower her hair so that she could climb up it to enter the castle. Once the witch left, the prince tried the same thing, and Rapunzel let down her hair. This went on for some time until Rapunzel made a mistake and mentioned him to the witch. The witch cut Rapunzel’s hair and took her deep into the woods in hopes that she would get lost or starve. When the prince came to see Rapunzel, the witch used the hair that she cut off to trick him and get him high in the tower. Once she did, she pushed him out, and he landed on a thorn bush, which left him blind. The animals help the prince and Rapunzel find each other. Rapunzel’s tears helped cure the princess's blindness, so he was able to lead them both back to his castle. The two got married, and Rapunzel was reunited with her parents.
The illustrations in this book definitely added to the story. On some pages, the words take up most of the page, and the illustrations wrap around the words, adding in some detail. On other pages, there are only pictures that show the readers a lot. Gibb uses bright colors and black silhouettes to show the good vs evil of this story. The witch is also always in a silhouette in the pictures, and the reader never fully sees what she looks like.
This book would be good to teach students about traditional literature or fairytales. It has a lot of elements of different genres, such as good vs evil, royalty, magic, and a happy ending. This book would be good to use to compare to other versions of Rapunzel and talk about what is different and why that may be. It could also be used as a writing activity for students to write about whether the witch was evil in this story or if the husband was evil for stealing from her in the first place.
February 10, 2019
As the title of the book indicates, the story is the same as Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm.
Personally, I did not like the story of Rapunzel. The cliché of fairy tales always bothered me because a princess is always “beautiful” and a prince is always “handsome." It is a dilemma for me to read folktales to children. There are some conventional books for childhoods, and I want children to have contemporary experiences with their peers. Moreover, contemporary fictions are likely to adopt the traditional stories to provide different perspectives. Without experiences of reading traditional and stereotyped literature, children would not enjoy the critical and new perspectives in modern picture books. In addition, I admit that the stereotyped gender roles and descriptions that folktales often have are the critical foundations to create related stories and provoke people’s imaginations. My understanding of the lessons from the folktale, Rapunzel, is morality. That is, if you steal someone’s property, you should pay for that. Rapunzel’s mother requested her husband that fresh salad from the neighbor’s garden. Stealing vegetables from the witch’s garden caused the tragedy of the family. When it comes to true love, I am still suspicious of the distorted childhood and family environment which would influence Rapunzel’s socio-emotional development.
Despite the critiques of the story, what I admired from this book are the nice illustrations depicting the story. The scenes of the baby being born to taking the baby to the witch were illustrated in four frames. These four frames imply time passes. Without texts, readers would guess what happened sequentially. Considering children’s reliance on illustrations, this would support children’s comprehension of the content and emotions of the characters. For instance, silhouettes of the characters increased the speed of the tragic situations and illustrated tensions in the events.
Personally, I did not like the story of Rapunzel. The cliché of fairy tales always bothered me because a princess is always “beautiful” and a prince is always “handsome." It is a dilemma for me to read folktales to children. There are some conventional books for childhoods, and I want children to have contemporary experiences with their peers. Moreover, contemporary fictions are likely to adopt the traditional stories to provide different perspectives. Without experiences of reading traditional and stereotyped literature, children would not enjoy the critical and new perspectives in modern picture books. In addition, I admit that the stereotyped gender roles and descriptions that folktales often have are the critical foundations to create related stories and provoke people’s imaginations. My understanding of the lessons from the folktale, Rapunzel, is morality. That is, if you steal someone’s property, you should pay for that. Rapunzel’s mother requested her husband that fresh salad from the neighbor’s garden. Stealing vegetables from the witch’s garden caused the tragedy of the family. When it comes to true love, I am still suspicious of the distorted childhood and family environment which would influence Rapunzel’s socio-emotional development.
Despite the critiques of the story, what I admired from this book are the nice illustrations depicting the story. The scenes of the baby being born to taking the baby to the witch were illustrated in four frames. These four frames imply time passes. Without texts, readers would guess what happened sequentially. Considering children’s reliance on illustrations, this would support children’s comprehension of the content and emotions of the characters. For instance, silhouettes of the characters increased the speed of the tragic situations and illustrated tensions in the events.
November 28, 2017
Reading Level: 5.2
Book Level/ Guided Reading Level: U
This beautifully illustrated version of Rapunzel tells the classic Brother’s Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel, making it just one of many renditions of this piece of Traditional Literature. In this story, Rapunzel, a young woman with trademark long hair who has been imprisoned by an evil witch in a tall tower might finally be set free by ‘true love’ and rescued by a passerby prince.
This book would understandably be an ideal read aloud for students in approximately first or second grades, as they frequently cover a unit on myths and folklore in English Language Arts. Together, teachers and students can explore the themes typical of myths found in this book. While the genre of fairytales is easily accessible to younger children, this book has a high reading level, making it a good guided reading selection for younger elementary students who are advanced readers and are reading above grade level. Students in many elementary grade levels will be excited to read this tale because they can relate it to other retellings of the fairytale that they are familiar with. Classes could even engage in discussions comparing this version to multiple iterations.
Moreover, this novel could be used as a mentor text to demonstrate the writing traits of presentation and conventions. It could also serve as an example for students on creating dialogue and the conventions that accompany it as a writing lesson.
Book Level/ Guided Reading Level: U
This beautifully illustrated version of Rapunzel tells the classic Brother’s Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel, making it just one of many renditions of this piece of Traditional Literature. In this story, Rapunzel, a young woman with trademark long hair who has been imprisoned by an evil witch in a tall tower might finally be set free by ‘true love’ and rescued by a passerby prince.
This book would understandably be an ideal read aloud for students in approximately first or second grades, as they frequently cover a unit on myths and folklore in English Language Arts. Together, teachers and students can explore the themes typical of myths found in this book. While the genre of fairytales is easily accessible to younger children, this book has a high reading level, making it a good guided reading selection for younger elementary students who are advanced readers and are reading above grade level. Students in many elementary grade levels will be excited to read this tale because they can relate it to other retellings of the fairytale that they are familiar with. Classes could even engage in discussions comparing this version to multiple iterations.
Moreover, this novel could be used as a mentor text to demonstrate the writing traits of presentation and conventions. It could also serve as an example for students on creating dialogue and the conventions that accompany it as a writing lesson.
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November 29, 2019By Sarah Gibb
Summary: A girl named Rapunzel is taken away from her family as a punishment for the father by a witch. The witch takes Rapunzel to live in a tower. Rapunzel has many bird friends. The witch climbs up the tower by Rapunzel's hair. One day a Prince hears Rapunzel singing and watched the witch climb up Rapunzel's hair. The prince climbs up Rapunzel's hair and day after day, they fall in love. The witch finds them out, she cuts off Rapunzel's hair and sends her off into the forest. The prince is harm by thorn bushes but is lead by Rapunzel's animal friends to her. Rapunzel heals the prince by her tears and they get married.
Evaluation of Illustrations/Text: The text is long and fills the whole page. The illustrations fill the whole page with bright and colorful drawings.
Strategies for Use in the Classroom:
Making predictions about a story - Students can talk about what they think will happen in the story before it is read.
Rewrite different parts - Students can use their knowledge of this version of Rapunzel and another version to choose different outcomes in the story.
Summary: A girl named Rapunzel is taken away from her family as a punishment for the father by a witch. The witch takes Rapunzel to live in a tower. Rapunzel has many bird friends. The witch climbs up the tower by Rapunzel's hair. One day a Prince hears Rapunzel singing and watched the witch climb up Rapunzel's hair. The prince climbs up Rapunzel's hair and day after day, they fall in love. The witch finds them out, she cuts off Rapunzel's hair and sends her off into the forest. The prince is harm by thorn bushes but is lead by Rapunzel's animal friends to her. Rapunzel heals the prince by her tears and they get married.
Evaluation of Illustrations/Text: The text is long and fills the whole page. The illustrations fill the whole page with bright and colorful drawings.
Strategies for Use in the Classroom:
Making predictions about a story - Students can talk about what they think will happen in the story before it is read.
Rewrite different parts - Students can use their knowledge of this version of Rapunzel and another version to choose different outcomes in the story.
September 16, 2019
Valahogy ez nem fogott meg annyira, mint a másik kettő (igaz, azokat nem Sarah Gibb írta). A rajzok tetszettek, de a történet egyes részeivel voltak problémáim… Például amikor a banya csak úgy tud felmenni a toronyba, ha Aranyhaj leengedi a haját; de akkor hogy vitte fel a lányt a toronyba korábban? Mert ez nagyon cselesen kimaradt. (És mintha akkor is ugyanez lett volna, amikor elüldözte a lányt…) Tudom, mese, ezért azzal is megelégedtem volna, ha legalább azt leírják, hogy a boszorka varázslat (haha, vagy seprű :D) segítségével fel tud menni a toronyba vagy valami. Egyébként a rajzfilmet nagyon szeretem, csak ez a mesekönyv nem tetszett annyira, mint azt vártam (ami nem azt jelenti, hogy rossz volt).
July 26, 2018
The story isn't fantastically told (in fact, it's a bit wordy) but the illustrations more than make up for it. This is one of my favorite picture books for the illustrations alone. Sarah Gibb uses such a beautiful color palette, and I adore all of the silhouette/paper-cut pictures. There's a fantastic two-page spread of the prince riding his horse through a forest, with Rapunzel's tower in the background that is just... gorgeous. I would have been obsessed with this picture book as a child.
November 4, 2021
Genre: traditional literature
Grade Level: K-3
The illustrations of this book were amazing! I loved how they changed from bright colors when Rapunzel was happy to dark colors when the witch was around. It really helped identify the mood and I know this could be helpful for students as well. The story was also very good and I liked how it followed along with the Brothers Grimm version. This was a great traditional literature book!
Grade Level: K-3
The illustrations of this book were amazing! I loved how they changed from bright colors when Rapunzel was happy to dark colors when the witch was around. It really helped identify the mood and I know this could be helpful for students as well. The story was also very good and I liked how it followed along with the Brothers Grimm version. This was a great traditional literature book!
August 28, 2017
No pregnancy, no desert. Rapunzel's name makes no sense because her mother craved "salad." The girl never wears shoes, even at her wedding, but apparently does wear a corset. The tower is outfitted as if there will be guests. The pictures are disneyfied, ridiculously pretty. I did not like it, and according GR's star system that means 1 star.
February 24, 2018
Love Sarah Gibb's illustrations so much. The intricate silhouettes against delicate colour washes convey a depth of emotion and invite re-readings to find the hidden details. A beautiful retelling of the original story which is both faithful, yet refreshing. So glad to have added this to my collection of fairytale books with stunning pictures!
January 12, 2020
GORGEOUS illustrations!!! And love this version of the story- almost exactly like the original except that the author was considerate enough to leave out the awkward part about Rapunzle having twins while she was in the wilderness.
April 25, 2022
1-3
Traditional literature.
This is another book where there are so many different versions but again the the illustrations and paintings in this book are unbeatable. The traditional story is always a classic.
Traditional literature.
This is another book where there are so many different versions but again the the illustrations and paintings in this book are unbeatable. The traditional story is always a classic.
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October 17, 2023This story is about a girl named Rapunzel who got locked in a tower by a witch. One day a prince is riding by on a horse and sees the tower and hears someone singing. I would have my students write a summary of the story.
July 29, 2017
Lovely pictures and beautifully told!
August 14, 2018
The artwork in this story was absolutely glorious. The details are fine and beautiful and captivating.
October 25, 2019
Research - stick to the original
January 28, 2020
I love this re-telling of Rapunzel. The artwork alone is stunning but the story is also well-paced and exciting. I used it with a Y1 class as part of a topic on fairytales.
April 16, 2021
I liked the illustrations however I would not include this book in my classroom and I would instead find a retelling of the Brothers Grimm story.
April 20, 2021
I adored this book. Honestly, I wish I had a copy of it myself. I loved the pink, black and white color scheme. The overall look of the pages and the artwork was lovely.
Read
May 1, 2021Maybe my favorite fairy tale picture book to date. And I have read a lot lately. Also, Rapunzel is such a good story for Covid times!
March 12, 2022
The story was wonderful and the illustrations were beautiful, but I couldn’t get a child to sit long enough for the extremely long text per page.
August 17, 2022
The art is so beautiful!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews