“My mother named me after a cow’s rear end. It’s the favorite village joke, and probably the only one, but it’s not really true. At least I don’t think it’s true, and neither does Gran. Really, my mother had another name for me, a wonderful name, but no one ever heard it. They only heard the first part. The worst part.” Rump pg.1 Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin
Twelve year old Rump lives on The Mountain with his Gran, where he works mining gold for the king. His father died before he was born and his mother died just after he was born, before she could tell anyone, expect her infant son, what his full, true name was. “Sometimes I thought if I just focused hard enough, I could remember the name my mother had whispered to me before she died. Sometimes I could still hear that whisper in my ear. Rump … Rumpus, Rumpalini, Rumpalicious, Rumperdink, Rumpty-dumpty. I had spoken a hundred names aloud. It always tickled my brain like a feather, but my true name, if I really had one, never surfaced all the way.” Rump pg. 10 That’s not all that is troubling young Rump though. He isn’t very good at mining and there isn’t much gold left in the mountain anyway, but the greedy king wants more and starts cutting the rations of food sent up to The Mountain, until more gold is found. However when Rump discovers an old spinning wheel in the pile of firewood outside his house, and what he can do with that spinning wheel, he believes his luck is about to change. Unfortunately for Rump, luck isn’t always good luck. He must find his true name, but he must also find his true self, if his luck is going to change.
Shurtliff’s tale of Rump isn’t exactly like the Grimm Brothers famous tale of Rumpelstiltskin. The characters are all there, Rumpelstiltskin, the Miller and his daughter and the greedy king, but the story itself turns the Grimm Brothers wicked little Rumpelstiltskin, into a caring young boy who is eager to learn who he really is and help those around him. If you enjoy Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff, you may also enjoy her latest book Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Check out the book trailer for both books on the author’s web-site: lieslshurtliff.com, or check out these other popular fairytale adaptations:
Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer
The Grimm Legacy and The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman
Storybound series by Marissa Burt
Twice Upon a Time series by Wendy Mass
Half Upon a Time trilogy by James Riley