Rapunzel: Children's Book Review
the classic fairy tale illustrated and retold by Paul O. Zelinsky
May 10, 2007
A Beauiful Picture Book
Paul O. Zelinsky’s beautifully illustrated edition of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel is a wonderful way to introduce children to fairy tales and Italian Renaissance Art.
Many of Zelinsky’s illustrations for the book are stories unto themselves. A child who cannot read could happily study the details of the beautiful child Rapunzel dancing before her adopted mother and the ever-present peacock or they can wonder at the joyful reunion between Rapunzel and her prince with its audience of the two small children, a toad, and a cat.
A Well-Researched Edition of the Fairy Tale
Zelinsky’s notes about Rapunzel reveal the research that he went to in preparing to write and illustrate the story. While he relies heavily on the Brother Grimm’s version, he combines it with earlier versions in an attempt to “combine the most moving aspects of the story with the most satisfying structure and to bring out its mysterious internal echoes.”
Zelinsky’s research revealed that Rapunzel did not come to the Brothers Grimm from an oral source. They heard of Rapunzel through a German translation of a French literary fairy tale, which can be traced to a story printed in Naples that was derivative of a local folk story. However, they were probably unaware of its literary antecedents in other countries.
In the first edition of Children’s and Household Tales, the Brothers Grimm comment that Schulz’s story was certainly “derived from an oral tale.” As they often did, the brothers recast the story into a more brutal version to fit in with their range of tales.
In the earliest versions of the story, the herb of the pregnant wife’s longing is parsley; the young child’s name was derivative of that herb. She is called Petrosinella or Persinette. In the 1790’s, Joachim Christoph Friedrich Schulz translated the text for the German public including it in his book Kleine Romane. In his version, he changes the herb from parsley to rampion. Zelinsky chose to go with rampion, which for the sake of clarity he refers to as rapunzel.
Shulz is also responsible for the dramatic change of the witch’s method of discovery. He chooses the risqué method of discovery through the enlarged waistline of the heroine. Zelinsky chooses this more dramatic method of discover but legitimizes it with a tower marriage borrowed from earlier versions of the tale.
Illustrative Style
Zelinsky chose his artistic style for the illustrations and for the details in the illustrations by considering the history of the story. Zelinsky says that when selecting settings for the illustrations he “considered the story’s three countries of origin. The formal beauty of Italian Renaissance art seemed to fit well.”
Zelinsky remarked that the image of a tower reminds him of the Italian landscape where the bell tower is an important part of the country’s architectural tradition. Zelinsky found affirmation for his decisions when he recognized the similarity of the Italian word for bell tower (campanile) to that of Campanula, the name of the genus of bellflowers to which rapunzel belongs.
This retelling of Rapunzel is a valuable addition to the book collections of those who love fairy tales, romance, and fine art.
More About Fairy Tales
To learn more about fairy tales read about The Brothers Grimm, two men who collected many of our most well-known fairy tales.
For another picture book based on a classic fairy tale, check out Olga Dugina and Andrej Dugin's book The Brave Little Tailor.
Rapunzel, Retold and Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Dutton Children’s Books, 1997, ISBN 0-525-45607-4).
