cover image Rapunzel

Rapunzel

Carol Heyer. Ideals Publications, $14.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8249-8558-5

A condensed, almost studiously faithful version of the Grimm folktale forms the text for this flawed picture book--though this retelling significantly omits the twins Rapunzel first gives birth to. Heyer ( Excalibur ; Beauty and the Beast ) sets idealized but stiff figures in a variety of conventional if lushly colored settings, adding little drama to the formal, somewhat affected text. With their stylish coiffures and made-up faces, her contemporary figures could be straight from the pages of a romance magazine--much of the clothing lacks true period detail. The result is simply mundane. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)