Liesl ShurtliffBesprekingen

Traditional literature, textured fairytale independent reading level grades fourth through six

A totally new take on Red Riding Hood with Goldilocks thrown in, and a shout out to “Snow White Rose Red.” The wolf is an ally, the huntsman has a dark story, and the dwarf is more than a little misunderstood. Grandma has been trying to teach Red life lessons, but it takes a quest to teach her some of the biggest. Very clever telling

Somewhere between [b:Artemis Fowl|249747|Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)|Eoin Colfer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327945104s/249747.jpg|1334778] and [b:Ella Enchanted|24337|Ella Enchanted|Gail Carson Levine|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338459167s/24337.jpg|2485462] lies Rump, a book that is both gross and sweet. Recommended for third and fourth graders who like action, humor, and magic.

Overall, I liked this and will happily endorse it for pleasure reading, but it didn't measure up as a mock Newbery pick. The writing was heavy-handed at times. The magic behind the mystery (the mystery behind the magic?) didn't quite add up. It was certainly longer than it needed to be.

This might be a good book club pick for young readers. You could have a great discussion about all the fun fractured fairy tales there are out there. I'm sure kids will enjoy the world Shurtliff creates where your name is your destiny, trolls offer you sludge for dinner, and pixies climb up your pants and bite your rear. Speaking of which, we librarians could have a competition over how many "rump" puns we can fit into a booktalk! The bottom line is that you will enjoy Rump all the way to the end, so go read your tush off!

Originally published in 2015.

READING LEVEL: 4.4 AR POINTS: 10

This 296 page fantasy novel is based on two separate folklores: 1) Jack and the Beanstalk, and 2) Jack the Giant Slayer, and is the third book in The (Fairly) True Tales Series by Liesl Shurtliff. I chose this book to fulfil as my "fantasy novel" (#9/52) reading challenge for 2019 and I have a few grandkids who will also really enjoy reading this book.

What incredible hidden lessons for young people and full of adventure and humor to boot. It shows the value of working together, persevering, and thinking outside the box to solve problems, no matter how small or large or important or insignificant one is. And it shows the consequence of greed, or idolizing something that can't sustain, such as gold, which the giant king idolized so much it was his undoing and cause of death. Of course, the younger kids may not see all of this in the story. They may just enjoy the adventure.

The giant king's infatuation over gold was causing the famine in the land of the giants. He had his magician turn a hen into a hen who lays golden eggs on demand. And every golden egg drew resources from the earth. Well, you can't eat gold, and you can only reap what you sow.

After Jack had finally found his papa, they sat talking, trying to figure out what was cursing the land of the giants and causing the giants to enter the "Below" and ravage and steal the small farms of their food and animals and people to work as slaves for their own survival. The king believed he owned everything, from the giant's world above the clouds and the small people's world below the clouds. He was fat and glutinous and greedy. He was not going to worry about the famine as long as he, himself, had plenty of food no matter how it was obtained. Jack asked his father if growing was powerful. His father replied (I LOVE this because it is truly magical when you think about it):

"Very powerful...from one tiny seed you can grow a tree as big as the giants. Now that's magic if you ask me." (p. 235)

...he wasn't only talking about the growth of seeds, but also of the human spirit and many other things in life. So many positive lessons and an enjoyable read for the young and old.

I love this book! This is a fun to read reimagninging of the dwarves who protected Snow White, particularly the one known as Grumpy. While she does make an appearance, Snow White is a minor character in this tale. Instead we follow the life of Borlen (aka Grumpy) as he struggles between his curiosity about the surface and his obligations below ground. Through the process we learn about dwarf culture, relationships, and even cuisine. I enjoyed this story so much that I booktalked the author's earlier works to my 5th grade students since they can't read this until May. I plan to acquire a copy for both my elementary and middle school libraries.

Note: I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

independent reading level: 6-10
awards: no awardsbut nyc bestseller

independent reading level: 8-11
award: no awrds

Fractured fairy tales with some butt jokes thrown in - how can you go wrong?

A Well written, intriguing, and fun story explaining the story of Rumplestiltskin.

Great re-telling of the classic Rumplestiltskin story. 2016 Rebecca Caudill nominee book. Will probably use it as a read-aloud in the future.

A remake of the classic story, Little Red Riding Hood. Red is not afraid of the big bad wolf and is full of sass in this book. She is only fearful of one thing in life and that is magic. Otherwise, she is a fearless character in this book. She goes on an adventure to discover a magic potion that will heal her sick Grandmother. Best for ages 8-11.

Read for school. 239 pages.

This was a very cute retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but this is the story of Grump's part in all of this. I really enjoyed reading this with my son. I like that it shows a different perspective.

I'll admit it--this was poor planning on my part.

1) My Kids Book Club loves fairy tale retellings, and I'd heard good things about this book. But the main character's name (for most of the story) was unfortunate to hear a zillion times over the course of the novel in light of the past week's events.

2) I don't care much for fairy tale retellings.

3) I haven't been able to concentrate on any reading for the past week, so I resorted to the audio instead on this one, figuring it would at least push me along. The reader was awful though...male readers are often difficult for me anyway (geez, can you do a more terrible woman's voice?), but a male reader reading a middle grade novel (usually too cutesy) was too much. A lot of his character voices sounded like Jim Henson characters and not in an endearing way.

So what it just resulted in was me skipping ahead a bit (aided by the predictable plot) to get the main points of the novel. I've already heard from some of my kids in the book club that they loved/are loving this novel (it does have a mostly good message), so in the end I am glad I chose it. This was just the wrong time to read it.

This was a very good book. It gave a nice backstory to the villain of Rumpelstiltskin, making him much less villainous. I never would have imagined him being friends with a bad-ass Red Riding Hood. Rump is a funny protagonist with a great view on the world around him. His quest to find himself and the rest of his name is imaginative, yet true to the original fairy-tale. I've always wondered how Rumpelstiltskin got his name, and this finally cleared it all up for me.

Not my favorite, but a solid choice for kids who want fairytale retellings. It blends elements of Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears into an adventure quest that touches on what dying means and looks like. It sounds heavy, but worked really well and was quite sweet. Definitely reads young.

There wasn't a lot of substance to this book, but it was cute, and thoroughly enjoyable anyways. I read it so long ago that I can't remember more than that though. Oops.

This was better than Red, maybe because I was able to identify with the protagonist better — an outcast with a problem. I tend toward those stories more than quests because it allows better complexity of character. Plus it’s always about embracing your weird. And this was especially fun to read after finishing my own dwarf story.

Unlike mine, the dwarves live underground, eat rocks, and never interact with the surface world. Except for Grump who feels unquestionably drawn to it. When he finally breaks ground, he accidentally falls in with the evil queen and becomes her magic mirror. Grump is a better character than Red was. At first it might be hard to tell the difference–both are rather grumpy and acerbic. But something about Grump feels more earnest. It’s better to be grumpy than mean.

There are some stretches to fit the story of Snow White, and that always bothers me — reaching too far to make one story fit into another. The same thing happened with The Dark Knight Rises, which was the reason for its downfall. Both Snow White and Evil Queen get about equivalent screen time in this. The ending is satisfying, and I didn’t feel cheated, not like Red’s quest story (where you can skip all the middle and still find the ending, which is basically the answer to a riddle). And I was suprised at how well it weaves in both the folk tale and the Disney version of Snow White.

It does get a little sludgy in the lead-in to the third act, but the plot is surprisingly tight for a YA novel. There are some deus ex machina movements, but overall, I had a satisfying reader experience. It’s probably the best thing I read in the last two months.

This is the third adapted fairy tale in this series, but the first I have read. This story was not at all what I was expecting. It was extremely creative.

In this adventure, Red has to face her fears and weaknesses to discover her magic. Red is concerned that her Granny, also known as the Witch of the Woods, is dying so she sets off to find some magic to make her young. She meets up with Goldilocks, dwarves, Beauty and others along her journey. She befriends a wolf, needs to destroy the evil hunter, and find a way to save her Granny. This is a humorous, fast-paced, rollicking adventure with twists and turns that are unexpected.

Although Red is young, the issues that she struggles with are the same issues that many people, of every age struggle with. She is not perfect, but she has spirit and strength and compassion. Her Granny tries to teach her that she is a strong, talented witch, but she needs to discover this for herself before she is able to use her magic.

I would definitely recommend this to people who enjoy fairy tale adaptations and middle grade readers who like fairy tales and fantasy. This is a great chapter book for older readers as well.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Red: The (Fairly) True Tale of Red Riding Hood by [Shurtliff, Liesl]I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Different versions of fairy tales intrigue me. This one has Red being fearless, unless there is magic involved. Now she has to turn to it to try to help her granny, who is ill.

She asks Goldie to help her. Goldie is blond and likes trying porridge. Together they go through the dwarves' caverns to come to a haunted well and a castle that belongs to a beast. Unbeknownst to them a wolf and a huntsman are on their heels.

I love this take on the story. I know my grandchildren would take to it right away. There are enough surprises to keep them reading to the end.

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12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke, until one day he comes across an old spinning wheel. He discovers he has a gift to spin straw into gold. Little does he know that every time he spins he weaves himself into a curse. His best friend Red (little red riding hood) tells him that magic is dangerous, so rump must go on a quest to break the curse.

This fractured fairy tale recreates and expands on the story of Rumplestiltskin. He has always been called Rump because his mother died when he was born leaving him with only knowing part of his name, Rump. In his short twelve years, because of that name, he has been the victim of many jokes. Rump lives with his grandmother and times are hard when he finds his mother's old spinning wheel and feels that he must give spinning a try. He does so in spite of his grandmother's warnings not to touch the spinning wheel but to make it into firewood. To his amazement, he spins straw into gold and that is the beginning of his magical predicaments. Rump must find a way to escape the bindings of the magic that he has created so he sets out on a journey to find both his destiny and his true name because finding these things will free him from the magical spell.

This version of the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale should delight middle grade readers. The book is abounding with magic, mystery, trolls, pixies, villains, and all of the things that they will find irresistible in a story. Most important of all they will learn that "A name is a powerful thing".

Dwarfs are supposed to be happiest underground, the deeper the better, but Borlen has always been fascinated by the Surface, and hates the depths. When he gets his fate stone - an unusual one, a mirror - and is assigned to be the seventh on a work crew, his chance comes: a cave-in near the surface gives him an opportunity to explore.

Borlen meets Snow White's stepmother, Queen Elfrieda (Elfrieda Veronia Ingrid Lenore - E.V.I.L.), who charms naive Borlen and then seizes his magic for her own by taking him by the beard, which binds him to do her will. It all hinges on a misunderstanding of the word "fairest" - the dwarf means fair as in just, the queen thinks of fair as in pretty. Borlen manages to escape, only to be taken by the beard again - by none other than Snow White, who is fleeing the queen's hunter. Borlen and the rest of his crew shelter Snow White in their hut while they dig a tunnel back to the dwarf caverns, and Borlen gradually comes to like and respect her. But he obeys two masters - what can he do when their interests are opposed?

A creative retelling of the classic tale from an interesting perspective. The world of the dwarfs is thoroughly imagined, from their long lifespans to their food (gems and other stones), their lore, and even their tears (dust, not saltwater).½