All the Things

A blog by Holly Papa.

Rapunzel’s Revenge (all Hale breaks loose) by Shannon and Dean Hale illustrated by Nathan Hale

by | Nov 21, 2008 | Blog | 14 comments

Our 1st Double Scoop by Cari and Holly

First off, we are tremendously excited to present Rapunzel’s Revenge as our first ever double scoop! As big fans of Shannon’s other books, and with a little Rapunzel experience of our own, we felt almost compelled to choose this tale. We weren’t sure what to expect from a graphic novel and a co-author, but were intrigued, to say the least. After writing this review together, we have more respect for Shannon and Dean (writing a piece with someone else is hard work)! Lot’s of give and take makes us curious what type of arguments might they have had? Not that we would know anything about that . . .

****Stay tuned for our own “Rapunzel” reader’s theatre following the review.****

*Warning: Spoilers Below!

What we liked

Holly – I identified with Rapunzel trying so hard to do daring things, but it wasn’t natural at first- she was a total klutz and that is so like me!

Cari – I enjoyed Rapunzel as a female heroine who rescued herself and her family and saved the day without a prince charming. She’s independent, actually more like interdependent, she works with other people to accomplish her goals, but she doesn’t use her good looks to get her places.

Holly – The fact that Rapunzel still loved and related to her mom even though her mom had been a slave in the mines and thus didn’t look beautiful on the outside- this was poignantly satisfying.

What we didn’t like

Holly – Emily was a hideous ugly brat of a girl. I don’t know if I would have rescued her.

Cari – and spoiled! I don’t like the idea of a child, Rapunzel, being traded for lettuce. (I know that has nothing to do with the writing it’s just part of the original story. As a child it didn’t bother me too much, but as a mother it pulls on my heartstrings.)

What about the illustrations?

Holly – I loved the illustrations. The cover’s probably my favorite, and when Rapunzel looks mad (page 129, last frame). It was a change for me to try and read this type of book. It helped when I studied each illustration with my boys to figure out more of what was happening. Very visually stimulating!

Cari – I had to slow myself down and force myself to look at the pictures, otherwise you miss a lot of the story. Once I got the hang of it, it was really fun. I could tell they live in Utah as I saw some similarities to Zion’s National Park. Really liked how the words and pictures worked together to create a story.

Surprises we found

p1010031Holly – I liked the explanation of how Rapunzel’s hair grows long. That’s one thing that has always bugged me about the fairytale- how in the world does anyone get hair that long? Read the book to find out the reason!

Cari – It does explain a lot about the hair. My daughter would love that to happen to her (the long hair part, not the locked in a tower part). She did inform us that we can cut her hair when it reaches 100 meters, but she is worried about it falling in the toilet. Makes you wonder about Rapunzel.

Holly- I was surprised that more than one fairytale was involved.

Cari- I liked Jack and his bean that got him in trouble.

Holly- Yep and then all Hale broke loose!

Any good life lessons to share?

Holly- I like when Rapunzel got her hair cut off (maybe I shouldn’t like it since I have a little experience in that department, ahem). I got a lot of satisfaction that Rapunzel could still have power without her hair and we both think that it shows you don’t have to have a special power to help yourself out of a bad situation.

Cari- I didn’t like that the wicked mother, Gothel, cuts off her hair. (Ack!! What does that say about me. Just remember I was a young child). Not cutting other people’s hair is a good lesson.

What were the kiddos favorite parts?

Cari – My daughter saw the book on the couch, and spent over an hour ‘reading the book’ going page by page.  And then she put a bookmark in it and went to eat breakfast. She desperately wants to read it. I am planning on giving the book to a niece so I told her that we could read it, and that she could ask Santa to bring her the book. I can assure you Santa will be most happy to bring the book.

sagetree

Sagetree- note the yard stick tucked in the branches

Holly – It took me three days to read through the entire book with my boys. They kept begging me to read it to them and loved it, although I must say they were not so thrilled with the kissing part at the end. My boys really liked the coyotes because we live by coyotes. We frequently warn our boys not to wander into the sagebrush partly because of our furry neighbors who really do have very sharp teeth and are always looking for a meal (we have incredibly tall, thick sagebrush here in Central Washington- more like a child sized forest of short sage trees). So it was a good reminder for them.

What about stereotypes?

Holly – I liked that Rapunzel wasn’t a voluptuous cat-woman type that is so typical of comic books. I appreciated that Rapunzel didn’t show lots of cleavage in order to be a credible heroine which is one of my least favorite things about most comic books. One of the things that is especially important to me is that I don’t want my boys thinking that women have to wear next to nothing to be cool or successful and appreciated by men. I think that this book accomplishes all that and much, much more!

Cari – Ditto for my daughters. It was fun to see Rapunzel deal with the stereotype of – “you’re a girl, you couldn’t possibly do that”, and prove people wrong. Especially when she would help someone at first and Jack would get the credit. It’s like they didn’t see her. It was nice to read this book and it’s definitely one I want in my library for my kids for those reasons plus, its a fun book.

Holly- I agree this is a great book to have on holiday give-away and wish lists- even though the heroine is a girl, the book has universal appeal and will be appreciated by most readers over age 4 (the boys might feel a little self-conscious about liking it at some age point). I’ve tried reading comic books, I know this is a graphic novel (what exactly is the difference?) but I liked this better and highly recommend it.

Cari – A graphic novel is a type of comic book, generally longer then a comic book and tells a story beginning to end. Does that help? I looked it up. Great question. Did I just sound like a teacher? Graphic novels were very popular at my middle school thanks to the principal who introduced them. The kids ate them up.

Now for a little “Rapunzel” reader’s theatre story of our own.

cari_hollyNarrator: Once upon a time there were two sisters, Cari and Holly,

Holly: Cari was jeolous of Holly’s beautiful long tresses.

Cari: Um, yeah, do I have to admit it? I’d rather not talk about this. (Sigh) Okay. . . It all started when Holly’s hair got longer than mine. I couldn’t take it anymore! I’m older so naturally I should have prettier, longer hair, right? Well, I knew I had to do something to retain my position as the Rapunzel of the family. Sooo. . . I snuck the scissors out to the backyard and told my innocent, gullible little sister that we were going to play a new game: Haircutting!

hollyshaircut11

Three to four months after the haircut

I would go first and then after she sat really still so I could do a good job, then it would be her turn to cut my hair. (insert conspiratorial cackle). Of course, I butchered her hair almost to the scalp so that she couldn’t possibly ever compete with my golden tresses again. Even better than that- she had to get her hair cut like a boy. If she hadn’t worn dresses you never would have known she was a girl!

Holly: I worshiped the ground my sister walked on- why wouldn’t I believe every word that came out of her mouth? Oh yeah, and did I mention I was 3?

Narrator: All was quickly forgiven and long forgotten until one day . . .

hollycarischool

First day of school - Holly 1st grade, Cari 2nd grade

Cari: Holy Moly! Holly’s hair is longer than mine again! What happened? I thought I took care of that! It’s a good thing she’s so young and gullible- she probably won’t even remember the last time we played haircutting! “Oh Holly!” (sing-song voice)

Holly: Oh goody, my big sister wants to play with me! Hmmm. This is a new game. I don’t remember ever playing it before. Sure, I’ll sit nice and still in the swing. Well, as still as I can seeing as how it’s a Swing! I can’t wait until it’s my turn to be the haircutter this is so much fun!

Narrator: May we have a moment of silence? Drum roll please . . .

Cari: (muttering:) “Oh shoot. . .”   (out loud:) “Um, I don’t like this game anymore. We’re going to play something else.”

Holly: Hmmm. . . I don’t like this. “That’s not fair! Come back here it’s my turn! Cari, where are you going? Cari? . . . CARI!”

Mom: Holly? What happened to your hair?

Holly: “Ummm. . .  Cari did it?”

Cari: Caught again! But at least I’m still Rapunzel! Oh all right, I’ll apologize. “Um, Sorry?”

For more information on Rapunzel’s Revenge and the sequel , Calamity Jack (coming 2009/2010) please see http://www.squeetus.com/stage/rap_begin.html

This book has also been nomintated for a Cybils Award. More information available at http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/2008/10/the-2008-nomina.html

14 Comments

  1. Natasha @ Maw Books

    Too funny! I really enjoyed this post! I went to the kickoff party for Rapunzel’s Revenge and have interviewed Shannon as well. She is one of the nicest people I know – who else would give you her garden zucchini? !

    Reply
  2. caribookscoops

    Natasha – I remember your post on the kickoff party and the zucchini. Sounds like fun.

    Reply
  3. Sarah M.

    Great review of Repunzels Revenge. I’ve read one of Shannon Hale’s books and was curious about this one. I’m adding it to my TBR list. (Found your blog via Saturday Review)

    Reply
  4. Framed

    It is only fitting that the first graphic novel I read will be by Shannon Hale. I can’t think of another author who could entice me to try this genre. But your reveiw helped considerably. Hmmm, I wonder if my older sister cut my hair once and that explains that picture where I looked like an adorable little boy.

    Reply
  5. caribookscoops

    Sarah M. – Thanks for stopping by. This was a fun book and my husband read it last night. Trying to see what all the fuss is about at our house as our daughter keeps going through the book.

    Framed – This is my first graphic novel too and I really liked it. Shannon Hale is one of my favorites. As far as cutting the younger sister’s hair, it seems to be not too uncommon. There is a rumor that our mom did the same to her sister. I just hope my daughters don’t do the same. If they do I guess it makes for a great story 20+ years later.

    Reply
  6. hollybookscoops

    Natasha- I remember that kickoff party too. That was when I first heard about your site and boy must I say I was wishing I was there. It looked like a blast!

    Sarah- I hope you like RR as much as we did! My favorite traditional S. Hale book is Goose Girl and Princess Academy is a close second.

    Framed- So far RR is my favorite Graphic Novel- we’ll see what happens when Calamity Jack comes out. I’m sure my boys will love that one. Based on my experience, your big sister probably did cut your hair. Although my 5 yo just got caught cutting his own at school with a friend.

    Reply
  7. Christine

    Look at that cover! How could anyone resist it? We’ll have to check this one out!

    Reply
  8. shannon hale

    Thanks for the scoop, ladies! This is awesome. The very best I could have hoped for with this book was that there would be little girls carrying it around the house, not wanting to stop reading.

    Reply
  9. Michael

    I read the book and I enjoyed it too. It is the first picture book/comic book where all the femal characters are fully dressed. When my daughter saw me carrying the book around after I read it she seemed very curious are surprised that I had read it too.

    You girls have a really cute blog. When you blog together it’s pretty funny. Keep up the good work.

    Reply
  10. caribookscoops

    Christine – I know the cover is awesome. Nathan Hale did an incredible job.

    Shannon – You’re welcome and thank you for stopping by! We had a lot of fun writing this. I consider it a great book when a child can’t put it down and that is the measuring stick I think we should use for high quality literature.

    Michael – Thank you for coming by (that’s my hubby by the way) and yes I was there to witness when he read the book. Glad you liked it.

    Reply
  11. Bookie Woogie

    I love the “Double Scoop.” Hope we get more!
    This book was a hit with our kids too — we already have a review done, but it’s not scheduled to post for a few weeks yet…
    And what a great hair cutting story! I imagine lots of families have one (we certainly do…) BUT this has to be the best I’ve heard – a two-parter!
    Great post!
    Z-Dad

    Reply
  12. hollybookscoops

    Christine- Yep, pretty irresistable. I like to think there’s some similarities between my 1st grade picture (you know the whole western vest look) and Rapunzel. But, darn it, if you look close, those are nickerbockers, not wranglers.

    Shannon- You’re welcome. I know a little girl with pink cowgirl boots who would love this book for Christmas and she’s not my niece. I bet there are a lot of kids out there who will be spending Christmas day engrossed in RR. Here’s wishing all your hopes and dreams come true this Christmas holiday.

    Bookie Woogie- Thanks for the compliments- we do plan on posting more double scoops so stay tuned! We’ll be looking forward to your review on this book when it posts- I can’t wait to hear the comments from your neck of the woods.

    Reply
  13. Deanna H

    Thanks for the great review. How cool that Shannon Hale commented!

    Reply
  14. caribookscoops

    Bookie Woogie – Thanks! This was a lot of fun, but took longer than we thought especially when we would be logged in at the same time, editing and making changes without the other knowing – led to some interesting edits. We look forward to seeing your review.

    Deanna H – Glad you liked the review, yeah Shannon Hale made my day, maybe I should say week.

    Reply

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