Frankly, I'd Rather Spin Myself a New Name!: The Story of Rumpelstiltskin as Told by Rumpelstiltskin

By Jessica Gunderson and Janna Rose Bock

OF COURSE you think we were evil, spiteful fairies, cursing the poor princess with a forever sleep. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let us tell you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Jan 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781515801986

Jessica Gunderson

Jessica Gunderson grew up in the small town of Washburn, North Dakota. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota and an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has written more than one hundred books for young readers. Her book President Lincoln’s Killer and the America He Left Behind won a 2018 Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Silver Award. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Reviews for Frankly, I'd Rather Spin Myself a New Name!

[robinsonstef · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

his book is a twist on the traditional version of Rumpelstiltskin, because it's told from Rumpelstiltskin’s perspective. I know a lot of people feel bad for the maiden who has to spin straw into gold and can’t do it, but I have always felt a little sorry for Rumpelstiltskin, so hearing his take on the tale made me feel justified. As he tells the story, he makes lots of side comments to the reader. These cracked us up as we read.

I loved this book! The illustrations are bright and colorful. Looking at the character's expressions was our favorite part! Both the maiden and Rumpelstiltskin make some faces that had us is hysterics. There are lots of books in this series- so I look forward to reading more of them. Not only are they entertaining, but they help us remember that there are two sides to every story.

*My students love this series and this book makes them laugh. Great for looking at perspective and two sides of a story.

[katherine.boykins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Told from Rumpelstiltskin's point of vies, the story of Rumpelstiltskin. This fractured fairy tale is humorous and gives another side to the story. Students can compare and contrast this with the original Rumpelstiltskin. After learning about fractured fairy tales, students can take a fairy tale and create their own fractured fairy tale version of it.

[akitso1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was very entertaining, I really liked it! I never would have thought to tell the story from the step-mother's perspective so I thought that was very interesting. I love that the author didn't change any of the facts from the original fairy tale but, instead, just had the step-mother react to everything Cinderella did in a way that was never told. I thought it was hysterical that the main idea behind this story was that Cinderella always made up stories and never stopped talking. It changes the whole feel of the original fairy tale and makes it comedic. I think the big idea of this story is that there is always one more side to the story and that step-mothers aren't always wicked!

[emills4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was a very interesting spin on the classic modern fantasy tale of Cinderella. I think that is why it was enjoyable was because it was from the perspective of the stepmother. The illustrations were very bright and colorful which made looking at them fun and easier to follow along. The only thing I did not like was the the main message or central idea was not clear. Also, the actual story or plot was not very clear either. I understood that the idea was to tell the classic story from a different perspective, but the writing and language was not very strong.

[ml445 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying is the story cinderella, but the story is told from the step mothers perspective. The book is humorous. Children will love the twist. It is always fun to hear the same story, but the story has a twist. I would recommend this book to all children who love the story of cinderella.

[katiebrennan-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I like that the author wrote from the step mother's point of view. The traditional Cinderella story is told from Cinderella's point of view. In the traditional story, the step mother is portrayed as evil. In this rendition, however, Cinderella is portrayed as a nuisance while the step mother seems innocent. However, I did not feel like the characters were well developed. In the original Cinderella, the step sisters played a bigger role, as did the prince, whereas in this version, the author focused mainly on Cinderella and the step mother. The main idea is that there are two sides to every story.

[bstove1-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, this is a good children?s book. I like this story because it shows an alternative perspective to Cinderella. We always hear about Cinderella?s story, but never get to hear it from the stepmother?s point of view. This is interesting because it tells a completely different story, claiming that Cinderella was very annoying, which also adds an element of humor. I also like this book because of the writing style. The author writes in a way that sounds like how people speak today, which makes it relatable. For example, the title even says, ?Seriously, Cinderella is so annoying,? which sounds like something children say all the time or hear often. I think that using this language makes the story better. The message of this story is that there are two sides to every story.