How the Library (Not the Prince) Saved Rapunzel - Hardcover

Meddour, Wendy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847804322 ISBN 13: 9781847804327

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2014

Synopsis

Rapunzel sits on the 16th floor of an inner city block, bored, dreaming, and looking out at the rain. No one can rouse her from her apathy, not the milkman or the postman or the baker or her aunt or even the prince. But when at last a letter is delivered, it contains news that has Rapunzel on her feet again. She has a new job at the library! And suddenly her life is busy, sparkling, exciting and stimulating. For despite her long hair and her ravishing looks, she loved nothing better than reading good books!”

About this title

About the Author:

Wendy Meddour is the author and illustrator of A Hen in the Wardrobe and The Black Cat Detectives in the critically acclaimed Cinnamon Grove series. A Hen in the Wardrobe won the John C. Laurence Award for writing that improves relations between races and was shortlisted for the Muslim Writers’ Award and for the Branford Boase Award for a first novel. Also the author of the Wendy Quill books, she lives in Wiltshire, U.K. Rebecca Ashdown is an illustrator and graphic designer. With work ranging from online games and editorial illustration to brand design, clients include BBC Online, Selfridges, and L’Oréal U.K. She lives in the U.K.

From School Library Journal:

K-Gr 2—Rather than in a faraway kingdom, this Rapunzel lives in a modern English city on the 16th floor of an apartment building with a broken elevator. She sits day after day staring out the window with "nowhere to go" and "nothing to prove." Multiple people come to her "tower" and offer food, letters, and flowers and plead, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, please let down your hair," but she doesn't move. It finally takes the entire community climbing the stairs to bring her back to life. The letter that she wouldn't initially accept is a job offer at the library. She takes it and her life changes, allowing her to share the power of books with others. It may be hard for children to relate to Rapunzel, since she doesn't speak or react until well into the book. Her strength isn't shown until the end of the story and offers a positive message about the life-changing power of books, reading, and librarians. The rhyming text flows smoothly across the pages, but readers may stumble on some of the Briticisms, such as lift, hooter, and spanner. The colorful illustrations offer a diverse mix of characters, but the book misses the mark.—Andy Plemmons, David C. Barrow Elementary, Athens, GA

About this edition

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1847804322
• ISBN 13: 9781847804327
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Ashdown Rebecca