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Readers > Talk it Up! > Discussion guides > 2011 Oregon Reader's Choice Award Nominees > Rapunzel's Revenge

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Discussion guide written by Jackie Partch

Summary

Rapunzel is raised in a grand villa surrounded by towering walls, but at night she dreams of a different mother than Gothel, the woman she calls Mother. She climbs over the wall and finds out the truth. Her real mother, Kate, is a slave in Gothel's gold mine. In this Old West retelling, Rapunzel uses her hair as a lasso and to take on outlaws - including Gothel.

Booktalk

Rapunzel has a pretty great life. [Show p. 4-5.] She lives with her mother in a grand villa with 78 rooms, beautiful gardens, and servants to wait on her.

There are only two things that trouble her. One is a recurring dream she has about another family who loves her; her mother tells her never to speak of the dream again.

The other thing that bothers Rapunzel is the huge wall around the villa. [Show bottom of page 8.] So one day, using a rope as a lasso, she pulls herself up to the top of the wall, and this is what she sees. [Show p. 12]

How can it be that she lives in such a wonderful place, and others have to live in a wasteland? And it is there, in the wasteland, that Rapunzel meets her real mother, the woman from her dream. The woman she thought was her mother, who raised her in the villa, is Gothel, a sorceress, who stole her from her real family.

Before Rapunzel can learn any more, Gothel's guards force her back to the villa. And when Rapunzel dares to confront Gothel, the penalty is imprisonment in a magical tree. [Show p. 24.]

Now if this were the traditional Rapunzel story, we all know that the prince would come and rescue her. But not in this story. Here Rapunzel has to rely on her own wits (and her amazing hair) to outwit Gothel and destroy her empire.

144 pages, 5th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Rapunzel and Jack have many adventures on their way to Gothel's villa. Which one was your favorite?
  2. Do you think Rapunzel and Jack make a good team? Why or why not?
  3. Why do you think Mother Gothel wanted to have a child?
  4. How would you define the word hero? Are Rapunzel and Jack heroes?
  5. Rapunzel's long hair gives her special abilities, like a superhero. If you could be a superhero, what power would you want?
  6. How is this Rapunzel different than the female characters in many traditional stories?
  7. This book takes a traditional story and puts it in another setting (the Old West). How would the story be different if the setting changed (for example, if it was set in outer space or in ancient Egypt)?
  8. Did you know the story of Rapunzel before you read this book? How was this book similar to or different than the way you remember the Rapunzel story?
  9. If you found yourself locked in a tower for years, what would you do for entertainment? If you could only bring one item with you, what would it be?

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Activities

Read another version of Rapunzel. How was it similar to Rapunzel's Revenge? How was it different? Visit the author's website for Rapunzel's Revenge to find reader's theater scripts and other ways to use this book in the classroom.

Snacks

Try to find some rapunzel lettuce (also known as lamb's lettuce) to see what the fuss is all about.