I quite enjoyed this book, it was a very interesting take on the story of Rumplestiltskin. I enjoyed the journey and how things didn't follow the typical path they normally do with the different fairy tale creatures. When you think of pixies you sweet, charming, beautiful little creatures and trolls you think of big, nasty, angry beasts that eat people and live under bridges and are gruff and mean reading this book gives this whole other perspective on these creatures that I think was just great. I feel the author did a great job of taking characters that we know in our minds as like a 2-D image, we know what they are, how they function and the role they will play in a story the moment they come onto the scene the same as we know a chair is for sitting and a bed is for sleeping. She took these 2-D things and gave them another dimension, she made them more than what you see I loved that it's like finding out the chair in the corner is actually used for playing music, it's not what you expect but it's wonderful in it's own way. I say everyone should give this book a chance you may be pleasantly surprised. ( )

excellent excellent. for all ages! entertaining and informative relative to the fairy tale. Fills in some holes. Recommend. ( )

Relates the tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth, explaining why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned-queen.

Traditional literature, textured fairytale independent reading level grades fourth through six

Somewhere between [b:Artemis Fowl|249747|Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)|Eoin Colfer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327945104s/249747.jpg|1334778] and [b:Ella Enchanted|24337|Ella Enchanted|Gail Carson Levine|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338459167s/24337.jpg|2485462] lies Rump, a book that is both gross and sweet. Recommended for third and fourth graders who like action, humor, and magic.

Overall, I liked this and will happily endorse it for pleasure reading, but it didn't measure up as a mock Newbery pick. The writing was heavy-handed at times. The magic behind the mystery (the mystery behind the magic?) didn't quite add up. It was certainly longer than it needed to be.

This might be a good book club pick for young readers. You could have a great discussion about all the fun fractured fairy tales there are out there. I'm sure kids will enjoy the world Shurtliff creates where your name is your destiny, trolls offer you sludge for dinner, and pixies climb up your pants and bite your rear. Speaking of which, we librarians could have a competition over how many "rump" puns we can fit into a booktalk! The bottom line is that you will enjoy Rump all the way to the end, so go read your tush off! ( )