Rump: The true story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

from goodreads

4 stars

This morning I went to the dentist. I don't know about you but I love going to the dentist. My one friend on Facebook calls the dentist the tooth spa. I find it relaxing and sometimes I almost fall asleep (I did that when I was getting a cavity filled a few years ago). Now why am I so relaxed at the dentist? There are no kids touching me or talking to me.

I love my kids. I really do. They exasperate me, yet, they also make me laugh. But sometimes it is just nice to know that you aren't going to be asked to pick them up, or get them food, or change their diaper. At the dentist I can just sit back relax, and let the hygienist do their work. Best time ever!

And the best news, they found a few little cavities, though I am a religious flosser, so I get to go back in a couple weeks to get that work done. YAY!!! Relaxing at the tooth spa, here I come!

Synopsis

Rump hates his name. He knows that it is incomplete but his Mother died before she could let anyone know the rest of it. Where Rump lives your name and your destiny are intertwined. Rump decides to find out what the rest of his name is and thereby find his destiny.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. What an interesting back story of a character that we don't know too much about. It was neat to gain an understanding of why Rumpelstiltskin showed up in time to spin the straw, how the whole baby thing happened, and why he had the gift to spin in the first place. The author does a great job of staying true to the original story and yet offering these tidbits of information.

I also liked how the author explores the importance of names and how we are truly the makers of our own destiny. When you are naming a child a lot of thought goes into it. When you think of a name you are picturing a personality and a set of a achievements. A name is more than something used to differentiate one person from another. It could have long reaching consequences, or sometimes not. A name is a powerful thing. I appreciated how Rump goes through a time of not liking his name, but then in the end loves it. Growing up I did not really like my name. It was long, and people didn't always spell it correctly and it was not cute. When I was 5 I wanted to be called Diana. Now, I really like my name. It still annoys me slightly when people don't spell it correctly, but that's okay. I am used to spelling out for people now as par for course. I am really glad my name is not Diana. (No offense to those of you named Diana, it is still a lovely name. I just feel I am a better Meredith than Diana.)

There were some connections I wanted to know more about. Red and her granny, the trolls, and the whole yonder thing. I am wondering if any connections will be made in subsequent books. There is one about Jack and the Beanstalk set to be published in 2015. Some of the characters like the trolls and the wool witches, while somewhat essential to Rump's revelation of who he is, seemed just to be placed there and then that was it. There was no real depth or reason why they were in the story. Not much was done with them and it would have been nice if they were fleshed out a bit more.  I guess I wanted more depth and connection with other parts of the story.

I am looking forward to reading more in this fairy tale series by this author. I am looking forward to reading these out loud to my kids. I think this might be a great one for the summer. I think this would be a great book for ages 9 and up to read by themselves. There is enough adventure, slime and magic to hold their attention and keep them in awe. It was a fun book for this adult too.