Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin
By Liesl Shurtliff
Hi! Do you know someone who has a silly name? Well, have you ever heard a name as silly as “Rump”? (It means a cow’s rear end!) In The Mountain, your name is your destiny. But Rump knows that “Rump” isn’t his full name. His mother named him something magnificent, but she only said the first part… the worst part!
Rump is made fun of in the village. Mostly by the miller’s sons. Their names are Frederick and Bruno. Frederick and Bruno always make fun of him. No matter where he is, they always seem to find him. Except one day, he finds his mother’s spinning wheel. That night, when Gran falls asleep, Rump tries to spin wool, but he ends up getting cut. The next night he tries straw – and it works! The straw is spun into gold. He spins great amounts of it and takes it to the miller. The miller is greedy and only wants things for himself. So he makes bad offers for Rump’s gold. He only gives him a bit of food for a whole bunch of gold.
So suddenly, Rump has to help the greedy miller’s daughter because the miller had boasted that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king came and wanted the miller’s daughter to spin gold for him. But, the miller’s daughter, Opal, can’t spin gold. The king threatened to kill Opal if she didn’t spin straw into gold. So now Rump is out to save her. But soon, this one quest turns into two quests: to find Rump’s true name and to get away from whatever magic has captured him.
What will happen to Rump? How is he going to be able to survive all by himself? As I always say, read the book to find out!
I recommend this book to readers who love magic, adventure, and a twist to an original story. If you like all three of these things, then this is the book for you!
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor):
There were a few scary parts in this book.
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor):
Zero, none, nada.
I give this book 5 wands.
I absolutely love a twist in a story. If you’re like me and you love magic, adventure, and the other side of a story, then this is the book for you.
