The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde

A few years ago, the blogosphere was excited about, and in love with, Vande Velde's Cloaked in Red, a book thta poked all the holes in the story of Little Red Riding Hood and then filled them in and new and interesting ways. It's a fantastic book.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I was in the stacks and discovered that Cloaked in Red was not the first time she had done this! The Rumpelstiltskin Problem came out in 2001 and takes a good, hard look at the many, many holes in this story.

1. Why the #%$! would the miller tell the king his daughter could spin straw into gold?
2. Why did the king believe him? If she really could, wouldn't the miller and his daughter be super rich?
3. If Rumplestiltskin could spin straw into gold, why would he accept a simple gold ring as payment for creating a lot more gold than that?
4. Why would the miller's daughter agree to marry a guy who kept threatening to behead her?
5. If someone is guessing your name, why are you dancing around a campfire singing it loudly?


Vande Velde has many possible explanations-- a troll who just wants to eat a baby. A father and king who've had a little too much to drink. An ugly, bitter woman who is lonelier than anything. A queen who just wants the king to notice their daughter...

Short, fun, and thought-provoking, you'll never look at the story of Rumplestiltskin again.

I do, however, wish they had kept the paperback cover. It's a little young, but must more appealing.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Smart Dog

A review that originally ran in The Edge of the Forest:

Smart Dog by Vivian Vande Velde (Magic Carpet Books: October 2007, reissue)

Amy doesn’t have many friends, and is the easy target of the mean girl Kaitlyn. One day, walking to school, trying to time it so she arrives late enough to not make herself stand out and early enough so she’s not late, she meets a dog. This dog doesn’t do the normal doggy things, but instead asks very politely for help. A talking dog? It turns out that Sherlock is a science experiment from the local university and he escaped the lab to avoid having his brain dissected.

All Amy has to do is convince her parents to let her keep Sherlock and to keep him away from the graduate students who are trying to bring him back to the lab. However, with Sherlock’s helpful advice (plus the advantages of having an adorable dog) Amy is able to find the inner strength to make some friends and stand up to Kaitlyn once and for all.

Kaitlyn is the perfect mean girl, and their teacher, Sister Mary Grace is not the stereotypical nun, but rather the perfect balance of discipline and fun.

Smart Dog is honest and funny, veering into slapstick in areas. Middle grade girls will respond to the mean-girl drama and animal lovers are sure to fall for the lovable Sherlock.

Book Provided by... The Edge of the Forest, for review

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Nonfiction Monday: Authors Teens Love

These two books were nominated for MG/YA Nonfiction Cybils in 2009.

Vivian Vande Velde: Author of Fantasy Fiction by Candie Moonshower

Amy Tan: Weaver of Asian-American Tales Ann Angel

While these are certainly well-written and informative biographies, they don't have a lot of pick-up-and-read appeal. They're more "report books"-- things libraries should have for curriculum support but not really something that teens are going to pick up for pleasure reading.

I thought the Vande Velde one was a bit repetitive and while it mostly focused on her works for teens, the reading level/tone was a little younger. But I liked that she's included. Vande Velde has written a ton of books with solid appeal and circuluation but is often overlooked.

I love the fact that Amy Tan is included in this series-- she doesn't write books for teens (with the exception of two picture books, all of her titles are for adults.) BUT, The Joy Luck Club is often assigned in schools and with so much of her work focusing on mother/daughter relationships, it has broad teen appeal. (I know I was a huge fan of hers when I was in high school. I still am, but that's when I fell in love with her writing.) My one complaint is inconsistent romanization of Chinese place names. Pick a transliteration system and stick with it! Why have authors and editors failed to do this? It's annoying for those of us who know what's what and very confusing to those who don't!

I think these two biographies are also nice because both authors came to writing later in life. Vande Velde took a class at the local community college to get out of the house one night a week when she was a stay at home Mom, Tan started writing after she realized that her therapist kept falling asleep during their meetings.

The series in general is very readable, contains TONS of photos and author quotations, as well as pull-out boxes with further information about the author, the time period, or the author's books. In the back matter, the books contain a time line, a list of published and upcoming works, a list of awards won, a glossary, extensive source notes (which are marked in the text)* and an index. The Vande Velde volume also has an interview transcript between Moonshower and Vande Velde. The Tan volume has a selection of Tan's quotations on writing and reading.

*Swoon. Endnotes!

Today's Nonfiction Monday round-up is over at Apples With Many Seeds.

Book Provided by... the publisher, for Cybils consideration

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Cloaked in Red

Cloaked in Red Vivian Vande Velde

From the introduction (after several hilarious pages deconstructing "Little Red Riding Hood"

Okay, think about this. What makes a good story?

1. Memorable characters

We've got a mother, Little Red Riding Hod, a wolf, a grandmother, and a woodcutter. It's hard to call characters memorable when the only one who has a name is, in fact, named after apparel that nobdoy wears anymore.

2. Vivid setting

The woods. Okay, are we talking Amazon rain forest here or a couple of trees in someone's backyard? It's sloppy storytelling if we aren't given enough information to picture where our memorable characters are.

3. Exciting plot

Try submitting a story to your creative writing teacher in which the main character bumbles cluelessly throughout the story, then gets rescued by another character who was never mentioned before. Go ahead and keep your fingers crossed for a passing grade.

4. Important themes--something about the subject to captivate our imaginations and connect with those who read the story.

It's hard to determine the theme of "Little Red Riding Hood." Don't go into the woods? Don't talk to animals who are capable of talking back? If you're going to make fun of your grandmother's appearance, make sure it truly is your grandmother and not a wolf who likes to dress in old-ladies' clothes?

However you look at it, "Little Red Riding Hood" is a strange and disturbing story that should probably not be shared with children.

That is why I've gone ahead and written eight new versions of it.

And eight wonderful new versions is what Vande Velde gives us. We have sinister wood cutters and bumbly blind ones. We have girls in the wood who are unsure of themselves and those who know exactly what they are doing. We have wolves of hunger, friendly wolves, werewolves, and wolves made of rags. We have cloaks that are smarter than their owners, cloaks that are altogether the wrong shade of red, and even one that is actually green.

Vande Velde takes us through several versions of the story, all of which make a lot more sense than the original. It's often funny and at times a bit scary. Each story focuses on a different aspect of the story-- Red's family, the woodcutter, grandmother, the wolf, the cloak... all with excellent results.

I love Vande Velde's take on the issues with the original and her ideas on how to fix the story. I enjoyed every version and this is a must-read for fairy tale fans.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.