Primary-Intermediate
The story of Rapunzel, who is trapped in a tower by a sorceress.
Good for an introduction to fairytales

This retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel is gorgeously illustrated by the author by paintings in a Renaissance style in a reflection of the tale’s Italian origins. Similarly, the settings look decidedly Tuscan.

The author provides a history of the fairy tale in his Afterword.

While this picture book is for older children, even they may not understand the reference to Rapunzel’s pregnancy or even how it happened. But using the lovely story and the illustrations, adults could even use it as an opportunity to get into the birds and the bees. ( )

This book tells a hopeful fairytale about Rapunzel and her journey from a prisoner in a tower to a Princess with a family. The book finished with a couple of pages about the history of this folk tale and the originations of the various versions of Rapunzel’s story. The illustrations in this book are finely detailed oil paintings. The vast color pallet used adds to the fantasy element of the story and contributes to the hopeful theme of the story. I think this book would be best appropriate for grades second through fourth. ( )

This traditional tale is retold by Paul O. Zelinsky with award winning art on each page. At the end of the book is a note from the author giving historical background about this version of the famous fairytale. This book is a Caldecott Honor Book.

This is a retelling of the Grimm's folktale. It has beautiful illustrations, and a great story. Not only is it an interesting story that everyone knows some version of, but it can definitely be used in the classroom. For math you can tell the story using tangrams when introducing them. You can teach a geometry lesson with the pictures because they show symmetric objects that have reflections, translations, and rotations. You can also use it to have the students estimate the height of the tower, and the length of her hair. So this book not only helps provide the reader with an interesting well-known folktale, but also a chance to bring in learning from places they would never think of. ( )