Rumpelstiltskin - Traditional/Folk Literature

Rumpelstiltskin is retold by Stella Nathan and "stiched" by Virginia Tiffany. 

Page from the Book

Page from the Book

The story begins with a poor miller and his beautiful daughter. He told the king that she could spin straw into gold even though she really couldn't. The king took her to his kingdom and told her to spin all of the straw into gold or her and her father would pay with their lives. A little man with a long beard appeared and he agreed to spin the straw into gold if she would give him her necklace. The next morning, the king took the girl to an even larger room whole of straw and asked her again to make it into gold. She cried for the little man to appear. When he did she agreed to give him her silver ring to make the straw into gold. Once again, the king was so pleased that he took her to an even larger room full of straw. And again she cried out to the little man for help. This time she had nothing to give him so the man made her promise to give him her first born child. She agreed because if she did not, her and her father would die. The king was so pleased that he married the beautiful girl and they had a son. The little man appeared again asking for her child. She offered money and jewels but he wanted her son. He made a deal with her that if she could guess his name within three days that she could keep her son. The king and queen had everyone think of names but no one could guess the right name. On the morning of the final day, a messenger came and told them that he saw a strange little man in the woods dancing and singing that his name was "Rumpelstiltskin." When the little man appeared the queen said his name and he was never to been seen again and they lived happily ever after. 

I would use this book to incorporate the arts. The students could turn this story into a dramatic screenplay. They can act out the story verbatim or in their own rendition. The pictures in this book are not what children are used to seeing. They are stitched, not drawn or painted. We could explore different mediums used in books. The children could illustrate the story in the method of their choice.