Rapunzel

October 11, 2010
The high point of this otherwise sluggish addition to the Classic Fairy Tales series is Lavreys's spare, subtly textured folk art. Her sunlit paintings use recurring celestial motifs: the night sky, the witch's cap, and Rapunzel's tower are all adorned with stars; Rapunzel's skirt features crescent moons; and a smiling sun looks on in several scenes (when the witch climbs up Rapunzel's hair, the sun's quizzical expression seems to say, "Really?"). Translated from the Dutch by the publisher, the narrative is somewhat dense and wooden, never doing much more than relating plot points. Describing the heroine's reaction to the prince, it reads, "She thought he was not only very handsome and brave, but also very sweet. That's why she gladly agreed when he proposed marriage to her." Lavreys's artwork brightens the story's dark moments—neither the witch nor the prince's fall from the tower are even slightly frightening, sapping much of the dramatic tension from the story—so Rapunzel's reunion with the prince and the "happily ever after" ending are never in question. Ages 3–5.

October 1, 2008
K-Gr 3-Isadora sets the classic fairy tale in a sunny African setting. A child, taken from her parents by a sorceress, "grew into the most beautiful child under the sun." When she is 12, the evil woman locks her in a high tower, climbing up Rapunzel's beautiful, black, flower-strewn hair when she wants to ascend her prison. The story remains true to the original, including the ending in which the young woman and her twins are reunited with the prince, and she cures him of his blindness. Colorful, vibrant oil paints and collages brighten up the story. The artwork has rich brushstrokes and is heavily patterned, and details abound, including the green warts on the sorceress's face. Add this book to Isadora's fairy tales reimagined in Africa, such as "The Princess and the Pea, The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (both 2007), and "The Fisherman and His Wife" (2008, all Putnam)."Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, Kearns Library, UT"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2008
Preschool-G This oft-sanitized Brothers Grimm tale is given a faithfulif indeed grimretelling in the latest of Isadoras African-set fairy-tale adaptations, seen most recently with The Fisherman and His Wife (2008). The story races along with every scandalous plot point intact: Trapped by an evil sorceress, Rapunzel uses her long hair to allow a prince entrance into her cloistered tower. When her ensuing pregnancy tips off the sorceress, the vengeful captor tosses the prince into thorn bushes that blind him. As with Isadoras previous retellings, the text is scant and the abrupt happy ending doesnt really satisfybut her wild, colorful Africa makes up for it. Sprawled across double-page spreads, the collage assembly will take repeat examinations to fully appreciate; thick brushstrokes render skin as textured and rich as wood grain, and the landscapes are chaotic patchworks cut from swaths of burnt orange, deep brown, and the sorceress stormy purple. Young listeners will also find plenty to scrutinizeits a dazzling garden of images, particularly given the paucity of the storys seeds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
In her fourth African recasting of European folktales, Isadora shows a Rapunzel blessed with abundant dreadlocks that reach to the savanna where her lonely tower is placed. As before, the retelling is spare and the collage paintings lush. Although a few spreads are unfocused, most make effective dramatic use of the page.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)