Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

By Liesl Shurtliff

98 ratings 107 reviews 104 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 5S4.461156
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 inventiveRump 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)

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I loved it. Shurtliff adds a lot more to the original rumpelstiltskin.

This was such a funny book! It's so different from other Rumpelstiltskin stories. I always think it's interesting when authors do spins on fairy tales.

This is a fluffly fantasy that everyone should read. It's not like the ordinary. Sure it has magical creatures and a hero at the end, but there are twists and turns that I have never seen in a middle-grade fantasy novel before. This novel is about Rump, a boy who finds out that he can weave straw into gold. But every time he does so, he weaves himself into a curse. The entire plot just speaks to me. Fractured-fairytales have this, this thing that just attracts me to read it. Rump was this goofy character that was the, "Butt of everyone's joke." He keeps making these mistakes that his friend, Red (Little Red Riding Hood), keeps warning him about. And this Rumpelstiltskin meets Little Red Riding Hood concept going on is too much for my heart to handle. So yes, I love this book. And yes, I will read the rest of Liesl Shurtliff's fractured-fairy tale books.

Um. I guess this book was okay, considering that it’s a fairy-tale fantasy kind of book. This book is about Rump, who I’m guessing is probably about 10 years old (I’m not sure if it said in the story). Rump found a magical spinning wheel, but soon discovers magic is dangerous.

This story is about 12 year old Rump-who was only given half his name before his mother died. In his town your name is your destiny - and his name is a joke. Orphaned young Rump lives with his elderly grandmother and must work in mines to find gold like everyone else. Then Rump discovers that he has inherited his mother's ability to spin straw into gold - something that his grandmother hid from him. Rump experiments with his magic, but soon find that a price comes with it. Soon Rump is forced to go on a journey and find his name and try to fix the mistakes his magic has caused. This book is a twist on the fairy-tale Rumpelstiltskin. I found it very entertaining, and there were plot twists at every corner-even though I was familiar with the classic tale and knew the general outcome of the story. The author was very creative in how she stayed true to elements of the original, but also put her own spin on the story. I recommend this book to anyone who loves fairy-tales and even those who don't. This book is great for middle grade aged kids who love adventures and fantasy, although I believe older people will also enjoy it. Overall, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars

Rump is a 12 boy who has half a name. His mother said that his name was Rump…. , but she died before she could say the rest. Having a half name is a problem. Especially if you live in a place where your name is your destiny. Since he has half a name, he’s half his size. One day, he learns that he can spin straw into gold. Rump and his grandma are very poor. With his grandma sick, he has to do almost everything around the house. He spins tons of straw into gold to buy more food from the miller. The miller gives the gold to the tax person. Later, the king decides to visit their town to ask who gave the thread of gold as a tax. The miller tells him that his daughter, Opal, can spin straw into gold. She is taken to the castle to spin more gold for the king. However, Rump continues to spin straw into gold, but he doesn’t know that he is cursed because of the magic. To get break it, he asked his best friend’s(Red) granny. She told him to find a stiltskin. He travels to the castle to help Opal spin straw into gold. Each time, he gets a gift in return. For the first time, he received Opal’s pure gold necklace from her father, for the second time, he received her ring with an opal, and for the last time, he received her first newborn child. He leaves to find the stiltskin. He meets his aunts for the first time. They tell him part of his name, Rumpel. Rumpel tries to find the stiltskin until he finds out that he himself is the stiltskin. he pieces together his name, Rumpelstiltskin. He receives the newborn, even though he didn’t want it. He told her if she could guess his name in three days, he would give Opal her baby. On the third day she got it right and everyone got what they wanted. My favorite part is when he met his aunts. My favorite character is Rump. He wanted to find his name. so he did. He wanted to save Opal. So he did. Rump is my favorite character because he wants to help friends. I recommend this book to anyone who’s ambitious.

Rump is a boy with half of a name. His mother died after saying, "His name is Rump-" and so he is made fun of for being Rump. When he finds that he is somehow magic, and can spin gold out of straw, the only person he can tell is Red, his only friend.

This book was very interesting; it's like a bunch of fairytales rolled into one book. In the beginning, Rump is always teased about his name, which means butt. His mom wasn't able to name Rump's full name since she died. In this book, Rump goes on a quest due to a curse from a spinning wheel.

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin was a very interesting book depicting the background of the classic story of Rumpelstiltskin and why he stole the queens' baby? Read this book to find out why!

Names have power, but what kind of power does 12 year old Rump hold? Every story about Rumpelstiltskin is about he spins gold and he is a greedy person who steals babies. But this story is completely different. You fall in love with the characters in many ways. Rump goes on an amazing adventure battling against Trolls, Pixies & a greedy/foolish Queen. Great book, thanks for reading - Ajg15

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