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Rumpelstiltskin

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BfK No. 112 - September 1998

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Nicola Bayley’s latest title, The Necessary Cat (© Nicola Bayley 1998). Nicola Bayley is interviewed by Joanna Carey. Thanks to Walker Books for their help in producing this September cover.

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Rumpelstiltskin

 Stephen Player
 Helen Cresswell
(Wayland)
32pp, 978-0750020367, RRP £8.99, Hardcover
5-8 Infant/Junior
'Classic Fairy Tales'
Buy "Classic Fairy Tales: Rumpelstiltskin" on Amazon

This fairy tale is neither so well-known by children nor easily grasped. But this beautifully crafted retelling rolls off the tongue, begging to be read aloud. Cresswell's use of 'old-fashioned' phrases enables the tale to be set in the mind as one from days of yore. The rich text is to be savoured, and the illustrations both explain and move along the story. Cresswell builds up the tension as the strange little man three times saves the miller's daughter from death. Will she finally thwart his desire to take her first-born? Rumpelstiltskin is one of Macdonald's series of classical tales retold by top children's authors. It is no doubt produced to meet the demands of the National Curriculum, but what a delight to find fairy tales published of such quality. Well worth seeking out.

Reviewer: 
Gwynneth Bailey
3
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