This book is a funny twist on the classic fairy tale Rumpelstitskin, a good book and full of laughs, this book will make you laugh out loud!
Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin
By Liesl Shurtliff
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 3 - 5 | S | 4.4 | 61156 |
This funny fractured fairy tale goes behind the scenes of Rumpelstiltskin. New York Times Bestselling author Liesl Shurtliff "spins words into gold [Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor winner]."
In a magic kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.
To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship—and a cheeky sense of humor—he just might triumph in the end.
A Texas Bluebonnet finalist and winner of the ILA award for middle grade fiction, Rump is perfect for fans of Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted or Adam Gidwitz's A Tale Dark and Grimm. And don't miss Liesl Shurtliff's other fairy tale retellings: Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk and Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood.
"A fresh riff on the Grimm Brothers' Rumpelstiltskin, told with wit from the impish point of view of the troublemaker himself." —People
"Lighthearted and inventive, Rump amusingly expands a classic tale." —Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fablehaven.
In a magic kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.
To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship—and a cheeky sense of humor—he just might triumph in the end.
A Texas Bluebonnet finalist and winner of the ILA award for middle grade fiction, Rump is perfect for fans of Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted or Adam Gidwitz's A Tale Dark and Grimm. And don't miss Liesl Shurtliff's other fairy tale retellings: Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk and Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood.
"A fresh riff on the Grimm Brothers' Rumpelstiltskin, told with wit from the impish point of view of the troublemaker himself." —People
"Lighthearted and inventive, Rump amusingly expands a classic tale." —Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fablehaven.
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN-13: 9780307977960
ISBN-10: 030797796X
Published on 4/22/2014
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 272
Book Reviews (107)
To me this book just seemed uninteresting, it didn't seem like a book that I liked and read often. But something way deep in my heart and in the back of my mind told me to read this book so finally I gave in to this mindless urge. This book was actually amazing full of triggering twists and plots and wisps of magic and glory!
Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin is a book of Rumpelstiltskin in a funny way that older readers enjoy reading. and it is really funny to read.
Ever heard of Rumpelstiltskin? You know the guy who could turn straw into gold. Well, as the story goes, there was miller who was poor, and in order to make himself seem superior, he said that he had a beautiful daughter who he claimed can spin straw into gold. The king said to bring her tomorrow. If she cannot spin straw into gold, she would die. The next day came, and the daughter was locked in a dungeon to spin the straw. She could not do this, and knew it was impossible. However, the door opened, and said that he could do this if she wold give him something in return. She gives him a gold necklace. The man succeeds, but the daughter is asked to repeat this task again the next day. This time, she gives the man her ring in exchange for his service. The king is pleased, and once more asks for the task to be repeated. This time though, she has nothing to give. She promises the man her first born child. The miller's daughter is chosen to marry the king. Later, she has a child with the king. The man comes to take the child, but the new queen refuses. The man decides that if she can guess his name in 3 days, the child will be hard. She could not get it right, till on the 3rd day a messenger tells her that deep in the forest, he heard a man singing a song, in which he reveals his name to be Rumpelstiltskin. This indeed is his name, and the queen gets her child back. In the tale, you may think that Rumpelstiltskin is the villain. But Liesl Shurtliff convinces you that you have not heard the full story. In her adaptation, the main character's name is Rump. His mother died giving birth ti him, and he never found out his full name. Ever since then, he has only had his grandma. The other villagers tease him because of his name. A cow's rear end is a rump. It is believed that your name is your destiny. The closest he has had to a friend is a girl named Red. He mines in The Mountain everyday in search for gold. He never finds any though. The annoying pixies always bother him, because pixies love gold. One day his grandmother is about to throw out his mother's old spinning wheel, but Rump says that it is the only remnant of his mother. He eventually finds out that he can spin straw into gold, just like his mother. Others tell him that it will only cause trouble, and it does. He gets into trouble with the greedy miller and his unfair bargains. He finds out that his mother is from Yonder. He ventures into the forest to find Yonder, and any remaining relatives. Rump meets trolls on his adventures, too. Through his adventures, he learns that maybe your name doesn't determine your destiny. He also becomes braver, and gains the support of some other people too. This was an interesting take on this tale. It was very interesting. However, it was sometimes a little too slow. I like how the author still kept me glued to the book. It is a good read for grades 4-5 and up!
Rump is quite a remarkable book and is loosely based on the author's struggles. It's about a boy, Rump, living in the gold-mining part of a kingdom. He doesn't know much about his family history, due to his grandmother never really telling him. He doesn't even know his whole name, only that it begins with "rump", and that makes him a target of bullying. But when his grandmother dies, he is pushed to the edge. He learns of his magical powers to spin straw into gold, and he goes on an incredible adventure. He faces many obstacles over the period of a year, but he ends up with a satisfying conclusion. This book was great and it tells the amazing story of Rumpelstiltskin, some of which was never included in the original (or boring) versions.
I liked that this book was about a fairytale character. I like books with different stories about fairytale characters. It was interesting to see what Rumplestiltskin was like as a boy. I would like to read the other books by this author, especially Red.
This book was OK. It was about a boy named Rump who is bullied because of his name and then he finds a mysterious spinning wheel. And after that, pixies won't stop bothering him. I liked that this book was a retelling of a fairy tale but it could have been written much better than it was. Fans of the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin might like this book.
This book is about a boy named Rump and his best friend red to put it short he is bullies because of his name ,then later he goes on a awesome adventure ,I recommend this to anyone who likes or loves fairy tales
At first glance, I had judged the book by its cover. I had read the fairy tale this book was based on, and it was quite boring. Now that I’ve read this book, I’ve absolutely fell in love with it. The constant theme it had was really amazing, and I loved this book. In this book, a boy named Rump struggles because of his name. He is laughed at by many people, and becomes the “butt” of all jokes. Because of this, he believes that his destiny is terrible, and thinks he won’t have a good life. He then discovers a spinning wheel, and uses it to find out he can make gold. This leads him into a lot of trouble, as the miller he is enemies with uses him to his advantage. After that, he goes on a journey, and through this, he finds the true power and destiny of his real name, I loved the format, and everything this book offered really satisfied me. I would recommend it to 3rd to 6th graders, because the plot sometimes gets complicated, and the book includes deaths of people close to Rump. But all in all, I feel this book is a must-read!
We read this book back in third grade, but I had to reread it and it was weird how the book seemed to be better the second time I read it. It's about this boy named Rump who lives in a kingdom with little red riding hood. He's always laughed at, and one day he finds out he has this gift for spinning straw into gold. He is warned that he shouldn't use magic, but he still does, getting deeper into a curse every time he does. To lift the spell, he must venture with Red and fight off creatures and solve problems that get in his way. I just love how the author did a cross over with Little Red Riding Hood, I thought that was really cool. After reading this book, I'm seriously considering reading the other book based on Little Red Riding Hood called "Red".