Synopses & Reviews
This winner of the William C. Morris Award for best YA debut novel is a ghost story, spun with a romance, woven with a mystery, and shot through with fairy tale.
The gold thread promises Charlotte Miller a chance to save her family's beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, jobs for her townsfolk, security against her grasping uncle -- maybe even true love.
To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past -- secrets ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte's mill, her family, her love -- what do those matter to a stranger who can spin straw into gold?
This is an award-winning and wholly original retelling of "Rumplestiltskin."
Review
* "Vande Velde's takes on this fairy tale are always humorous and often heartwarming."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "An effective and amusing collection, with just the right amount of snappy sarcasm to snag the junior-high set."—Kirkus Reviews "These short variations on the story have a sly humor and a contemporary feeling. . . . will appeal most to fairy-tale fans who just can't get enough of the traditional genre."—School Library Journal
Synopsis
Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family's woolen mill, which holds her beloved town together. But after her father's death, the bad luck piles up. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner makes a tempting offer: he can turn straw into gold. Levine Books.
Synopsis
The gold thread promises Charlotte Miller a chance to save her family's beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, jobs for her townsfolk, security against her grasping uncle -- maybe even true love.
To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past -- secrets ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte's mill, her family, her love -- what do those matter to a stranger who can spin straw into gold?
This is an award-winning and wholly original retelling of "Rumplestiltskin."
As if it were a roving of wool! Rosie and I stood there and watched him, moment by moment, as the spindle bobbed and twirled. Something pulled out from the brown straw and through his knobby fingers, and where it shoudl have gone onto the spindle, the finest strands of gleaming gold threads appeared. Round and round the spindle went, and the gleaming of gold turned with it. I don't know how long we watched it, turning and turning, flashing gold with every revolution. I could not take my eyes away.
Synopsis
From Edgar Award winning author Vivian Vande Velde comes six alternative versions of a classic fairy tale.
Synopsis
Have you ever wondered just what was going on when that odd little man with the long name stepped up and volunteered to spin straw into gold for the millers daughter? If you stop and think about it, there are some very peculiar components to the story.
Vivian Vande Velde has wondered too, and shes come up with these six alternative versions of the old legend. A bevy of millers daughters confront their perilous situation in very different ways—sometimes comic, sometimes scary, always unexpected.
About the Author
Elizabeth C. Bunce's first novel, A CURSE DARK AS GOLD, won the ALA's William C. Morris Award for a YA debut. Elizabeth cuts, sews, and embroiders both cloth and stories at her home near Kansas City, Missouri. Please visit her website at www.elizabethcbunce.com.