Rapunzel

Title: Rapunzel
Author: Stephanie Peters
Illustrated: Jeffery Stewart Climmins
Genre: Graphic Novel; Traditional or Folk Literature


Summary:
This graphic novel tells the age old tale of Rapunzel. This story begins with a husband and wife who are expecting their first child. One day the husband gets caught stealing vegetables from their next door neighbor. The neighbor in question also happens to be an evil witch. When the witch catches the husband stealing, she allows him to chose his punishment; either she will kill his wife or he must promise to give the witch his first born. Because the husband loved his wife so much, he promised the witch that she could have his unborn child. On the day of the little girl's birth her parents gave her to the witch. The witch named the child Rapunzel and raised her as her own. One day though, Rapunzel tried to run away from the witch so that she could see the world. The witch caught Rapunzel trying to run away and sentenced her to a solitary life in a secluded tower. The only entrance into the tower was a window far too high for anyone to climb in to. The witch visited Rapunzel in the tower everyday by climbing up Rapunzel's long flowing hair in to the tower's only window. While waiting for the witch's daily visit, Rapunzel decided to pass the time by singing. Her beautiful voice caught the attention of a prince who was passing the tower. The prince watched from a distance while the witch told Rapunzel to "let down her hair." He waited for the witch to leave and then repeated her command so that he too could enter the tower. For the prince and Rapunzel it was love at first sight. The prince promised to visit Rapunzel everyday after the witch left, so that she would no longer be lonely. The prince stayed true to his promise and they were able to keep their love a secret from the witch. However, the secret became too large to hide and the witch found out about the secret affair. The witch devised a plan to punish both Rapunzel and her prince. She...wait what am I telling you all of this for? Read this graphic novel to find out the ending.

Making the Connection:
This graphic novel would be a fun way to introduce fairy tales to your class. I think that students would be pleasantly surprised to find out that a "comic book" could be used in the classroom. The book also has the brief history of the story Rapunzel and some really fun writing prompts included in the back. Below is an example of one of the writing prompts:
* Write a new middle and ending for the Rapunzel story. Imagine that her parents had refused to give the witch their baby. What would happen? Would they have to go into hiding? Would the withc catch them and put all three in the tower?