Rump: the True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Lisa Shurtliff

This is an expanded retelling of the old Rumplestiltskin story, in which the author takes an unlikable character and turns him into an unlikely but likeable hero.

Rump, who lives with his beloved grandmother, in a poor village on the side of a mountain. Their subsistence depends on the meager amounts of gold that they are able to mine for the king which they trade for rations. Rump endures endless teasing and bullying because of his name, which he is convinced is incomplete. His mother died before managing to get his whole name out.

The greedy miller of the original story runs the village, collecting the gold and distributing the rations as he sees fit. Most of Rump's bullying is at the hands of the miller's sons, who are the ones that discover Rump's magical ability to spin straw into gold and report it to the miller. Unfortunately for Rump, under the rules of magic, he is compelled to trade the gold for whatever is offered and his ability to produce more gold than he could mine does nothing to improve what he receives from the unscrupulous miller.

When the king comes to the village to find out the source of the increased gold production, the miller boasts that it was his daughter, who is beautiful but definitely not the sharpest tool in the drawer, who can spin straw into gold. The king takes her to the castle to spin gold or die, with the eventual promise of marriage if she succeeds for three nights.

Rump sets out a quest to find his true full name, which he believes will lead to his true destiny. While on his quest, he hears of the miller's daughter plight and feels responsible. In this version, it is the maiden's own lack of acuity that leads to her promise of her firstborn child, which under the rules of magic Rump must accept.

This is an enjoyable fantasy book, with good characterizations, an interesting plot and a lot of humor, starting with the title character's name.  It is a good choice for anyone assigned a fantasy book report, especially those who don't like fantasy books. The elements of fantasy are easy to understand and don't require acquiring a new vocabulary.                  2013

R.Rauch

Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole, by Wong Herbert Yee

Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole

Mole is at first in rhapsodies over a magic performer he sees, but then becomes disillusioned and depressed when he realizes it's all "show biz." His friend, Mouse, takes him out into nature, and shows him one miracle after another, and they are all real!

This would be a great first chapter book for the child who is outgrowing beginning readers. 2007

K. Muhm

Summer Reading Is Killing Me, by Jon Scieszka

                                                          Summer Reading Is Killing Me

Joe, Fred and Sam, of The Time Warp Trio series, usually spend their adventures time traveling to another era via their "magic" book. Once there, they spend their time dodging dinosaurs, pirates or robots, while they seek their "magic" book, which will transport them home again.

In this book, Fred accidentally puts their summer reading list into the "magic" book. Instead of being transported to another time period, they and all the characters from the books on the list are transported to the Hoboken of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater. There all the bad characters from the books have rounded up the good characters in the Hoboken Public Library. The bad characters, led by Teddy Bear, intend to replace the good characters in their books, after they crush them with the books in the library. Can the boys convince the bad characters that they are bad characters too, long enough to find the "magic" book, which is also in the Hoboken Public Library, and transport everybody back where they belong before the bad guys change literature forever? 1998

R. Rauch

The Gecko and Sticky: Villian's Lair, by Andrew Clements

Thirteen-year old Dave and his talking gecko sidekick, Sticky, are trying to retrieve the magic golden ingots that make the Aztec powerband that they have work. The powerband, together with the ingots, can give the possessor super-strength, lightning speed or the ability to become invisible. Sticky snagged the powerband from the evil treasure hunter, Damien Black, but the powerband is useless without the ingots. Join Dave and Sticky as they try to recover the ingots from the evil Damien Black, who will stop at nothing to regain the powerband from Dave and Sticky. Their adventures begin at Damien Black's booby-trapped mansion and include encounters with the Bandito Brothers and a hungry, three-hundred pound Komodo dragon. 2009.
R. Rauch

We the Children, by Andrew Clements

Benjamin Pratt's life has been difficult lately, with his parents' separation, but it takes an unexpected turn when the dying school janitor presses a gold coin into his hand and extacts Benjamin's promise to defend and protect the school. The Duncan Oakes School has been sold to a developer for an amusement park, but now it is up to Benjamin and his friend, Jill, to try and save the school and preserve their town as they know it. What is the secret that Duncan Oakes hid in the school and can they find it in time? This is Book 1 of the "Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School" series. 2010
R. Rauch