What a beautiful book! Beginning with the hardback cover of the book, you can tell that Sarah Gibb has quite a gift for drawing. Rapunzel's beautiful blond hair is intertwined with pink flowers and green leaves. The animals sit at her feet, and all around the picture are more flowers in all shades of pink. It is the type of book that attracts attention.

Rapunzel is a retelling of story of a young girl locked in a tower by an evil witch. It is based on the original story by the Brothers Grimm. The story itself is not beautiful. It involves selfishness, enchantment, and a witch. The intended audience is children ages 5 to 10.

My young daughter loved the beauty of the book. There are great details in the art. It is breathtaking to look at. I was not enchanted by the mother-to-be or the story of the baby being taken from the parents by the witch. However, children do love the story of the prince rescuing the young lady and how her tears restored his eyesight. I liked that the book had a page that said "This Book Belongs To" because this is a book that will definitely belong to one of my children. It is a book that you want to keep all to yourself because it is so beautiful.

I loved the art but didn't particularly care for the story. I will certainly be looking for more beautiful books by Sarah Gibbs.

Product review by Maggi Beardsley, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April 2011