My youngest is fascinated by this one. It is a story of transformation (straw into gold, miller’s daughter into queen, callow girl into loving mother), which is why the awful, egocentric miller and king mostly don’t register (they’re walking plot devises). The Grimm’s version of this tale changed many times and Paul O. Zelinsky’s uses all of the best parts (including an ending where Rumpelstiltskin does not pay for his good deeds with his life).
Author: Paul O. Zelinsky/The Grimm Brothers
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky