RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE by Dean and Shannon Hale

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hale, Dean and Shannon. 2008. RAPUNZEL’SREVENGE. Ill by Nathan Hale. New York: Bloomsbury, U.S.A. ISBN 978-1599902883.

PLOT SUMMARY

The story of RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE revamps the traditional tale into a colorful and vivid tale with a western twist. Rapunzel begins her life in a beautiful Villa living with“Mother Gothel” who is actually an evil sorceress, and surrounded by servants and an imperviously high wall. When she meets her “real” mother expectantly one day outside of the villa, Rapunzel remembers the event of her kidnap by the evil witch. She chooses to rebel against her captor, who casts her into a magically made tall tree that resembles the traditional tall tower. As she escapes the tree by using her abnormally long hair as a lasso, Rapunzel begins her journey of revenge to save her mother and get back at the queen. She runs into a fellow outlaw and soon companion, Jack, who shares in her comical adventures along the way towards the ultimate goal of freeing all of the mine slaves.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This is a witty and sassy take on the traditional tale of RAPUNZEL. The authors create a heroine that doesn’t just remain docile while she is thrust into a tall tower to spend all of her waking days waiting until a gallant young prince arrives to save her. The Hales provide the audience with something more, adventure and courage. The young girl is quick on her feet and does not let such blatant wrongs as slavery and kidnap go unanswered. It offers all children, especially young girls with a positive role model and message that they should take charge, not letting men or old witches decide their fates.

The fantastic art by Nathan Hale (no relation, by the way, to the authors) is amazing and eye catching! The only problem with the art is it takes longer to read the novel because the reader is consumed with looking at all of the masterful drawings. Some of the word bubbles are also hard to follow due to the fact that one cannot tell sometimes where the conversation begins and ends. The caricatures pair perfectly with the jaunty storyline!

BOOK EXCERPT(S)

2009 Leah Adezio Award for Most Kid-Friendly Work

ALA Notable Children’s Book

Cybils Award

Indiebound Next Pick

YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens

YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

“The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after.” – School Library Journal

“Hale’s art matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape. Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers.” - Booklist

CONNECTIONS

Educators and librarians should focus a month or a few class times on the artistry and literary mastery of graphic novels. Perhaps children could pair up together having one write the story and the other draw the cartoons to go with it.

Other great graphic novels:

Hale, Dean and Shannon. CALAMITY JACK. ISBN 978-1599903736

Kibuishi, Kazu. THE STONEKEEPER (AMULET, BOOK 1). ISBN 978-0439846813

George, Jessica Day. TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE. ISBN 978-1599906447