Rapunzel's Revenge

Author: Shannon and Dean Hale

 

Illustrator: Nathan Hale

Peach’s Picks Rating:

 

Year of publication: 2008

City of publication: New York

Publisher: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books

ISBN: 978-1-59990-070-4

Author website: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books.html

Illustrator website: http://spacestationnathan.blogspot.com/

Media used for illustrations: pencil and ink, digitally colored

Annotation: Graphic novel that fractures the Rapunzel tale. In this cheeky adaptation, a self sufficient young woman breaks free from the tower where she is imprisoned and goes in search of her mother.

Personal reaction to the book: This fractured fairy tale is full of humor and sight gags. It begins with the same premise as the traditional tale, a pregnant woman craves greens. Her husband steals them from an evil witch’s garden. Alas, they must pay dearly for this theft by giving the witch their baby daughter upon birth. The witch names the baby Rapunzel. Now the story fractures and takes its own road. Rapunzel meets Jack and there is no end to the calamities and quandaries they encounter. Of course, as in any good fairy tale, the story ends happily ever after. The authors have included aspects of a tall tale. For example on page 39 Rapunzel lassoes a wild boar and rides it and on page 106 she does the same with a sea serpent.  The text has an easy conversational style blending Western twang with modern day teen intonation. I enjoyed the play on well known fairy tale symbols: the goose that lays the golden egg, the beanstalk, and dwarfs. The author and illustrator throw in some American folklore for good measure when they introduce the jackalope on page 84. There is even a reference to the Wizard of Oz when Gothel withers and disappears. This book has everything to make it a modern fractured fairy tale from magic to romance. It is lots of fun and best of all; it has a strong heroine who takes care of business by defeating her nemesis. The text and illustrations work together to move the story along at a rapid pace. The reader is encouraged to carefully read the pictures to get the full understanding of the story and enjoy the sight gags. The dialogue is placed in balloons with a white background. The narration is placed in rectangular panels with yellow background. The panels are laid out horizontally throughout the book. Each page is bordered in white. The book is paginated for easy reference. This book design makes the story easy to read. The color palette is predominately earthy tones with blues and purples used as accents and highlights. Readers interested in Shannon and Dean Hale’s creative process will enjoy reading information found at http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_rap.html ----warning spoiler alert. Do not read this until you have read the book. Have a good time with this book and enjoy the wild ride reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies.

General curricular connections:

• Graphic novels
• Reading for pleasure
• Study of fairy and folk tales
• Use in conjunction with Calamity Jack by Sarah Hale

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends this book for use with grades 5 and up

Booklist recommends this book for use with grades 5-8

Peach’s Picks recommends this book for use with grades 5 and up

Awards/Recognitions:

ALA Notable Children’s Books, 2009
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, Fiction, 2009

Junior Library Guild Selection

Cybil Award Winner, Graphic Novels for Elementary/Middle Grades, 2008

Horn Book starred review

Library Media Connection starred review

Publishers Weekly starred review

School Library Journal starred review

Note: This book was selected from " Other books receiving Top Ten votes, Summer Session 2009", San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science, LIBR 271A, Genres & Topics in Youth Literature, Professor Partington. This book applies to the assignment criteria – fiction graphic novel.

Onomatopoeia: Page 57; “FWUMP!”

Onomatopoeia: Page 62; “SMACK!”

Onomatopoeia: Page 93; “Yank”

Symbolism: Page 144; The golden egg symbolizes wealth and prosperity

Repetition: Chase scenes throughout the book, villains chase the Rapunzel and Jack

Book cover picture retrieved from http://www.bloomsbury.com/children/Rapunzels-Revenge/Shannon-Hale-Dean-Hale/books/details/9780747587439