by Michelle Hand for TWU Course Literature for Children and Young Adults
Hale, Shannon and Dean. Illustrated by Nathan Hale. 2008. RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE. New York, NY: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781599900704.
RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE is a graphic novel with an Old West twist on the traditional fairy tale. Rapunzel is exiled to a tree tower by her "mother." While in the tower, her hair grows long enough to use as a means to escape. After she escapes she befriends Jack, an outlaw, who helps her find her way back to find her real mother and they get into some troubles along the way.
Critical Analysis
Since the style of writing is dialogue with illustrations, I muddled through this one. I am not a big fan of graphic novels and am also am not a big fan of female characters taking on the hero(ine) role. I think media, as well as books, have taken the female saving the day a little
too far. I think it is unrealistic for Rapunzel to know how to use her braids as a weapon without any practice. Jack, her friend, gets her into more trouble than helps. I know the setting is a fantastical one and I hope 5th graders who read it will realize the things Rapunzel does such as taking down a humongous water serpent or tying up several grown men at once would not actually happen in real life.
I do give credit to Hale for inserting some things that go wrong such as the adventure obtaining the thirty gold coins for returning the kidnapped girl. This adds a little reality to the storyline. The illustrations are vivid and bring the story to life. Hale mixes storybook characters such as Rapunzel and Jack, as in Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack is subtlety introduced and some readers may not pick up on it at first. Jack ends up using a bean and a golden
egg to help Rapunzel end the end to capture her evil "mother" so her real mother can be set free.
Review Excerpt(s)
"Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers." Grades 5-8. --Tina Coleman - Booklist.
"If you ever thought of graphic novels as providing an easy read, this one will confound your expectations. It offers 144 pages of rip-roaring storytelling in which the familiar fairy-tale is hugely extended, gathering in its sweep all kinds of echoes from Wild West and Super-hero films as well as other fairy-stories."- The School Librarian.
"The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after."–Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library-School Library Journal.
YALSA 2009 Great Graphic Novel for Teens
2011 Young Readers Choice Award (presented by the Pacific Northwest Library Association)
Connections
Encourage students to compare and contrast the protagonist with related characters in other texts and even across media. For example, in what ways is Rapunzel similar to a superhero or to characters students know from manga or anime? Also, prompt extrapolation by asking what the real-world consequences of having“twenty feet of hair” might be. What daily
challenge would Rapunzel face that are not mentioned in the text?
Using Rapunzel’s Revenge as a touchstone, have students explore the roles of women and girls in fairy tales or other traditional texts. Challenge them to write a one-page plot synopsis of a story that successfully updates one of these characters.
Provide art supplies so that students can make “Wanted” posters, using the ones in the book as models for how to coordinate graphics and text. These posters can be for characters such as Jack or Witchy Jasper, or for characters from other other titles that students have read. Consider displaying the finished posters in a “rogues’ gallery.”
Collaborate with a history teacher to help students answer the question, “What was life really like in the Old West?” That is, what visual details did artist Nathan Hale do a great job in capturing? What other elements are more fanciful and don’t respect the technological, economic, or political realities of the period (apart from obvious fantasy elements such as huge serpents)? Focus this cross-curricular inquiry with a task: If you had to pick a year for when the story takes place in “our” reality, when would that be? What’s your evidence based upon clues in the print and graphics?
Connections from “A Teaching Guide to Rapunzel's Revenge” Shannon and Dean Hale, accessed April 27, 2013, www.squeetus.com/stage/Rapunzel_TG.pdf.
Other juvenile graphic novels and/or novels by Shannon and Dean Hale.
Hale, Shannon. PRINCESS ACADEMY. ISBN: 9781599900735
Hale, Shannon and Dean. CALAMITY JACK. ISBN: 9781599900766
Hatke, Ben. LEGENDS OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL. ISBN: 9781596434479
RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE is a graphic novel with an Old West twist on the traditional fairy tale. Rapunzel is exiled to a tree tower by her "mother." While in the tower, her hair grows long enough to use as a means to escape. After she escapes she befriends Jack, an outlaw, who helps her find her way back to find her real mother and they get into some troubles along the way.
Critical Analysis
Since the style of writing is dialogue with illustrations, I muddled through this one. I am not a big fan of graphic novels and am also am not a big fan of female characters taking on the hero(ine) role. I think media, as well as books, have taken the female saving the day a little
too far. I think it is unrealistic for Rapunzel to know how to use her braids as a weapon without any practice. Jack, her friend, gets her into more trouble than helps. I know the setting is a fantastical one and I hope 5th graders who read it will realize the things Rapunzel does such as taking down a humongous water serpent or tying up several grown men at once would not actually happen in real life.
I do give credit to Hale for inserting some things that go wrong such as the adventure obtaining the thirty gold coins for returning the kidnapped girl. This adds a little reality to the storyline. The illustrations are vivid and bring the story to life. Hale mixes storybook characters such as Rapunzel and Jack, as in Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack is subtlety introduced and some readers may not pick up on it at first. Jack ends up using a bean and a golden
egg to help Rapunzel end the end to capture her evil "mother" so her real mother can be set free.
Review Excerpt(s)
"Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers." Grades 5-8. --Tina Coleman - Booklist.
"If you ever thought of graphic novels as providing an easy read, this one will confound your expectations. It offers 144 pages of rip-roaring storytelling in which the familiar fairy-tale is hugely extended, gathering in its sweep all kinds of echoes from Wild West and Super-hero films as well as other fairy-stories."- The School Librarian.
"The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after."–Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library-School Library Journal.
YALSA 2009 Great Graphic Novel for Teens
2011 Young Readers Choice Award (presented by the Pacific Northwest Library Association)
Connections
Encourage students to compare and contrast the protagonist with related characters in other texts and even across media. For example, in what ways is Rapunzel similar to a superhero or to characters students know from manga or anime? Also, prompt extrapolation by asking what the real-world consequences of having“twenty feet of hair” might be. What daily
challenge would Rapunzel face that are not mentioned in the text?
Using Rapunzel’s Revenge as a touchstone, have students explore the roles of women and girls in fairy tales or other traditional texts. Challenge them to write a one-page plot synopsis of a story that successfully updates one of these characters.
Provide art supplies so that students can make “Wanted” posters, using the ones in the book as models for how to coordinate graphics and text. These posters can be for characters such as Jack or Witchy Jasper, or for characters from other other titles that students have read. Consider displaying the finished posters in a “rogues’ gallery.”
Collaborate with a history teacher to help students answer the question, “What was life really like in the Old West?” That is, what visual details did artist Nathan Hale do a great job in capturing? What other elements are more fanciful and don’t respect the technological, economic, or political realities of the period (apart from obvious fantasy elements such as huge serpents)? Focus this cross-curricular inquiry with a task: If you had to pick a year for when the story takes place in “our” reality, when would that be? What’s your evidence based upon clues in the print and graphics?
Connections from “A Teaching Guide to Rapunzel's Revenge” Shannon and Dean Hale, accessed April 27, 2013, www.squeetus.com/stage/Rapunzel_TG.pdf.
Other juvenile graphic novels and/or novels by Shannon and Dean Hale.
Hale, Shannon. PRINCESS ACADEMY. ISBN: 9781599900735
Hale, Shannon and Dean. CALAMITY JACK. ISBN: 9781599900766
Hatke, Ben. LEGENDS OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL. ISBN: 9781596434479
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