Rapunzel's Rap

Christy Conte is a business analyst and entrepreneur in Ajax, Ontario.

If the measure of a story is its ability to charm both reader and
audience, this short book is a success. Storyteller Sonja Dunn has
retold the tale of Rapunzel using the popular rap form. Her words bounce
off the page, and their rhythm is infectious. The rhymes are fun
(“Rapunzel learned to read and she learned to sew. She practised every
day on her PI-A-NO”), and the narrative moves quickly along. Unlike
most fairy tales, this one is cheerfully feminist in tone: it is
Rapunzel, not the Prince, who saves the day.

Andrew von Kцnigslцw’s illustrations are a wonderful accompaniment
to the text. Rendered in pencil, the simple drawings on each page give
the old tale a new twist. This Rapunzel wears leggings and runners, and
her Prince rides a motorcycle as well as a horse.

Rapunzel’s Rap should enjoy a wide audience. At once old and new,
timely and timeless, it appeals to the child in each of us.