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Rapunzel (Caldecott Medal Book) (Hardcover) (Hardcover)
by Paul O. Zelinsky
| Category:
Fiction, Award-winning books, Ages 4-8, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 178.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A wonderful retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. |
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Author: Paul O. Zelinsky
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pub. in: October, 1997
ISBN: 0525456074
Pages: 48
Measurements: 12.4 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00112
Other information: 1ST edition
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- Awards & Credential -
The winner of the Caldecott Medal |
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- MSL Picks -
The winner of the Caldecott Medal, Rapunzel is one of the most lush and beautiful stories ever created for children. Carrying many of the distinctive Zelinsky elements (staggered perspectives, reoccurring background characters, gorgeous lighting, etc.) the book is a joy to look at. Each picture evokes the spirit of the Renaissance, from the first tableau (the husband and wife feeling her pregnant stomach in contentment) to the last (the loving family poses with the cherubim-like children). The text is a little racier than your average children's picture book. Zelinsky doesn't shy away from the fact that Rapunzel is pregnant when the witch learns of her illicit relations, though he does legitimize the girl's newfound glow with a hasty "marriage" of the prince to Rapunzel in her tower. Sans priest, no less. The book is also remarkable for the dramatic shift that occurs in the character of the witch. A scowling ghoul in one picture, she transforms into an almost nunlike character when receiving the little Rapunzel baby. One might well ask what happens to the witch after she casts Rapunzel and her prince into the desert, but Zelinsky doesn't feel this is worth discussing. It’s a perfect book for storytelling, as the pictures are colorful and easy to see from a distance. Would pair well with his other oil painted fairy tale Rumplestiltskin.
Target readers:
Kids aged up 4
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Paul O. Zelinsky was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his book Rapunzel in 1998, and is the illustrator of three Caldecott Honor books, including Hansel and Gretel (retold by Rika Lesser) in 1985, Rumpelstiltskin in 1987, and Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs in 1995.
He is the adapter and illustrator of The Maid and the Mouse and the Odd-Shaped House: A Story in Rhyme, The Lion and the Stoat, and The Wheels on the Bus: The Traditional Song.
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Surely among the most original and gifted of children's book illustrators, Paul O. Zelinsky has once again with unmatched emotional authority, control of space, and narrative capability brought forth a unique vision for an age-old tale. Few artists at work today can touch the level at which his paintings tell a story and exert their hold. Zelinsky's retelling of Rapunzel reaches back beyond the Grimms to a late-seventeenth-century French tale by Mlle. la Force, who based hers on the Neapolitan tale Petrosinella in a collection popular at the time. The artist understands the story's fundamentals to be about possessiveness, confinement, and separation, rather than about punishment and deprivation. Thus the tower the sorceress gives Rapunzel here is not a desolate, barren structure of denial but one of esoteric beauty on the outside and physical luxury within. And the world the artist creates through the elements in his paintings the palette, control of light, landscape, characters, architecture, interiors, costumes speaks to us not of an ugly witch who cruelly imprisons a beautiful young girl, but of a mother figure who powerfully resists her child's inevitable growth, and of a young woman and man who must struggle in the wilderness for the self-reliance that is the true beginning of their adulthood. As ever, and yet always somehow in newly arresting fashion, Paul O. Zelinsky's work thrillingly shows us the events of the story while guiding us beyond them to the truths that have made it endure.
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| View all 5 comments |
Catherine S. Vodrey (MSL quote), East Liverpool, Ohio United States
<2006-12-31 00:00>
Paul Zelinsky is not only an extraordinarily talented artist-he trusts his readers. Zelinsky doesn't shy away from the grimness in this Grimm tale, and lets us see Rapunzel's naivete, her captivity, and her castigation without blinking. This may be a little too strong for some little readers, but it is truer to the original Brothers Grimm story than many other versions of the Rapunzel story.
Zelinsky captures the tale beautifully with his meticulously detailed illustrations, moving with ease and skill from the sensuous wilderness of the witch's garden (where Rapunzel's father goes to gather up the herb rapunzel for his pregnant wife to eat) to the austerity of Rapunzel's tower room. Rapunzel and her lover are portrayed as clear-eyed yet star-crossed lovers, not as cardboard fairy tale inhabitants. Zelinsky does much to humanize this often horrifying tale.
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Allan Eòghan (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I'm amazed by Zelinsky's gift at art! The tower (that tall, slender thing doesn't look very believable to me) doesn't really impress me, but that's just a minor complaint that I have (aside from that Rapunzel and her prince could have gotten to know each other before the marriage).
This book shows the two sides of Rapunzel's adoptive mother well. You can see the love for her "daughter" in one picture and then the anger of a demon as catches Rapunzel's biological father stealing more of her plants and as she learns of Rapunzel's relationship with the prince. The fact that Rapunzel was given away by her pregnancy is much more realistic than by a moment of forgetfulness; she'd know better than to do that with the sorceress around.
The prince and Rapunzel actually look quite natural and beautiful (the Renaissance setting suits them), much better looking than the rather fluffy and overdone Barbie and Ken version. Fairy tale heroes and heroines too often seem to be modeled after Ken and Barbie. Zelinsky's representation of them is quite refreshing; not these stiff cardboard-cutout stock characters, but showing much more personality than usual. To me, it's very reminiscent of the Leonard Whitting/Olivia Hussey version of Romeo and Juliette.
And what hair Rapunzel has! Wonderfully thick! It's beautifully painted and colored! Red-gold looks better for Rapunzel to me than Barbie's tow-colored "hair".
And Rapunzel's cat in the background is rather nice touch (being a cat-lover, myself).
Paul Zelinsky can't cease to amaze me with his artwork. And he's totally humanized the story! The characters have more depth and personality than they are usually portrayed having. The text and images he uses to do so are simply exquisite. Aside from his gift at art, he also knows how to use words. A commendable gift.
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Christina (MSL quote), Pensacola, FL USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
Rapunzel retold and illustrated Paul O. Zelisky is a version of the fairytale more closely relating to its original form dating back to 1635 called "Petrosinella". The story of Rapunzel has been found all over the world and has transcended time and culture, with few minor changes in the detail of the story for instance Rapunzel's hair color. The most distinctive difference between Zelisky's version and more modern interpretations, beginning with the Brother's Grimm is whether or not Rapunzel's pregnancy is mentioned. I think the story is for a more mature audience but children are not likely to catch the fact that Rapunzel is pregnant because they will be enchanted with the illustrations. The illustrations are reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance and will transport any reader into the fantasy world. Having researched several versions of Rapunzel, I have found that Zelisky's version is the most real to life because it does raise issues of sex, the inability for some parents to take care of their children, stealing, and cruelty to others. This book is provocative and will make readers of all ages asked questions; I would recommend this book for both children and adults. I think that both age groups could learn from each other by reading this book together, just be ready to answer your child's questions honestly. |
Todd Ihrig (MSL quote), Arlington, VA USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
This past weekend, our 3-1/2 year old daughter's grandparents came into town. Her Nonna told her a bedtime story about Rapunzel, a story she had not heard before. She was enchanted. Needless to say, Nonna went out the next day to buy a book and she came home with Paul Zelinsky's beautiful book.
I can't comment on the accuracy and literary side of the book - I'm not an expert on the original tale. However, the writing is wonderful; the story is an easy read with younger children. But clearly, the illustrations are what set this book apart. Many children's books use child-like pictures - but each page of this book is a new and different work of art. Detail and texturing worthy of an art gallery make this a pleasure to view as well as read.
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