Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter

Rumpelstiltskin and the miller’s daughter eloped, live on a farm, and have a beautiful daughter. All is well until the same greedy king who had charged the miller’s daughter with the impossible task of spinning straw into gold gets his hands on Rumpelstiltskin’s daughter. But she’s got a solid head on her shoulders and shows the king--and the kingdom-- a little magic of her own.

Perhaps her characters can’t spin straw into gold, but Diane Stanley sure can! In Rumplestiltskin’s Daughter, her revisionist sequel to “Rumpelstiltskin”, Stanley gives a magical makeover to a tale that once relied on chattel sexism, exploitation, and dishonesty so it comes out shiny, smart, and fresh. Readers will relish the detailed show more illustrations of late Baroque France’s royal grandeur and natural beauty, characters whose expressions shine through the pages, and, of course, witty, wonderful storytelling. Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter shows a strong, independent, smart woman taking on a cruel tyrant and teaching him what it means to be responsible--and how to reap the rewards. But don’t worry--the book isn’t preachy for even a second, and the illustrations will carry you safely into the world of the characters, where change can happen overnight. Long sentences and layered dialogue might be a little out of reach for younger readers to grasp. show less

A very cute fractured fairytail. This is the story of Hope, the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin. She was locked in a tower to spin gold for the mean and greedy King. Instead of calling on her fathers help Hope knew she could out smart the King. Hope tricked the King into feeding and clothing his kingdom. He went from being hated to beloved. The King wanted to marry Hope, but she insisted on being his prime minister. I love how this story ended with the girl becoming a politician instead of a queen. My children also enjoyed this version of the story.

0nce upon a time a miller's daughter was given an impossible task by a cruel and greedy king. She had to spin straw into gold. And who should show up to help her but an odd little man named Rumpelstiltskin.

According to tradition, the gold-bedazzled king and the miller's daughter are wed. But wait just a minute! This king is definitely not husband material, and there's someone else who is -- a hardworking guy who's supportive and nice looking, and who really comes through in a pinch.
In Diane Stanley's merry rethinking of the traditional tale, Rumpelstiltskin and the miller's daughter are wed...and then sixteen years later their only daughter is stuck in the same dilemma: She's been locked in a room full of straw to spin for a greedy show more king! She could call for help from her father, but this fairy-tale heroine has some canny plans of her own.
How Rumpelstiltskin's daughter sets things to rights in the troubled kingdom, while achieving a unique place for herself, makes for a wise and witty tale of kindness and cleverness rewarded. Diane Stanley's wickedly funny text and zesty illustrations put a delightful new spin on a classic fairy tale. show less

Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.

Summary: This book is a continuation of the original Rumpelstiltskin. It starts out with a girl whose father has told the king that she can spin straw into gold. The king locks her in a room filled with straw and threatens to kill her if she does not turn the straw into gold. That is when Rumpelstiltskin shows up to help the girl whose name is Meredith. They decide to escape from the king and they move to the countryside where they have a daughter named Hope. One day Hope is taken to the castle by two of the king's guards because they think she can spin straw into gold. She fools the king into giving all of the townspeople two pieces of gold for them to plant because she says that is how her grandfather used to grow gold. The king goes show more back a while later and discovers that instead of growing gold they have all grown crops. She then tells the king to pass out yellow wool that can be knitted into gold. When he returns he sees the townspeople dressed in yellow clothing but there are no gold coins. Hope then tells the king that he can take down the walls and the moat and to get rid of the crocodiles because the people of the kingdom now love the king because he has helped them. He offers to marry Hope but she declines and is made prime minister instead.

Review: I thought that this book was very well written. It was clever and funny and a good extension of the original story. The author did a good job including humorous elements in the story such as the comment Rumpelstiltskin made about coaching Little League. Even though this story would be considered traditional fantasy elements like that make it more appealing to the reader. She did a good job of conveying her message which was to always do what is right and try to help other people along the way. The message was not overwhelming and could be taken in several different ways. I thought that the story line flowed nicely and it was easy to follow. I also liked the illustrations because I thought they brought life to the characters. As a reader we often create mental images in our head but I thought these illustrations added a whole new level of dimension to the characters. show less

This is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin in which the miller's daughter runs off with the elf and they live happily ever after - which is why the story mostly focuses on their daughter. Okay, so far, so good - I've never understood why the miller's daughter married the stupid king to begin with.

At any rate, their daughter is imprisoned on the same pretext as her mother, and she concocts a plan to remedy everybody's problems at once by spreading the wealth of the greedy king around a little. And after two sets of good deeds his greed is erased, he loves being loved, he dismisses his angry paranoid guards without a moment's hesitation (and they don't object to this AT ALL, of course), and Rumpelstiltskin's daughter becomes prime minister show more and everything is perfect for EVERYBODY for ever and... it's just a bit much.

Fairy tales tend to be simplified, but this is a bit over the top for me. Everything is *too* simple and the moral of the story ("And Rumpelstiltskin's daughter had a name too. It was Hope.") is just a little too pat and too well-presented. It seems, ignore the pun, like a book of strawmen. I'm all for a good moral now and again, but I don't need one on every page of the book, over and again.

Besides, the nieces (3 and 5) didn't like it, didn't really even sit through it. It is a bit old for them, very wordy, but they've sat through equally wordy books before. This one didn't hold their interest at all.

I'm giving it a tentative three stars. I do like the artwork a lot, and I think that with more work it could've been a better book. show less

A humorous fairy tale about the infamous Rumpelstiltskin and his daughter, Hope. Hope is as cunning as her father is and ends up being the hero of the story. I loved the ending and did not see it coming!