This is a review Bryn & I wrote for the Guardian Family Reviews section

A revised edition of the classic fairytale of Rapunzel, who is trapped in a tower by an evil witch but, after much heartache, finally gets her happy ending.

Bryn’s initial response was that it was “not a nice story” as he didn’t like the “mean” witch. I had to agree having forgotten how many cruel incidents there are throughout the story: parents losing their baby daughter, Rapunzel trapped in the tower, the Prince being blinded and Rapunzel deserted in the wilderness.

Bryn felt the high point of the story was when the Prince fell from the tower and “the thorns pierced his eyes and made him blind” as this reminded him of the nursery rhyme ‘Three Blind Mice’. The high point of this book for me was the illustrations, they are rich, detailed & sumptuous.

The book has some fabulous double paged spreads, Bryn and I enjoyed pouring over them admiring the detail and spotting animals.

We enjoyed the book although it’s not a story that Bryn has asked for again, perhaps he may enjoy it more as he gets older.