Genre:  Fairy Tale / Germany / Audiobook / Family

Year Published: 1991

Year Read:  2006

Publisher: Rabbit Ears Books

Series: We All Have Tales 

Rabbit Ears Productions is widely known for their celebrity narrated stories. The production also many stories that were highlights of the 1990s. “Rumpelstiltskin” is a popular story from Rabbit Ears “We All Have Tales” series and is greatly enhanced by Kathleen Turner’s narration, Tangerine Dream’s haunting music and Peter Sis’s delicate drawings.

Kathleen Turner’s narration is extremely brilliant as she uses a somewhat menacing voice foreshadowing Rumpelstiltskin’s ulterior motives. Also, Turner does an excellent job at being brilliantly scary towards the end of the story when Rumpelstiltskin meets his demise. Tangerine Dream’s haunting music provided the perfect mysterious atmosphere to the appearance of the little man to enacting Rumpelstiltskin’s frightening dance number when the queen searches for him. Peter Sis’s drawings are delicate yet haunting, especially of the image of Rumpelstiltskin pulling off his mask, revealing a skeleton face.



Parents should know that younger viewers may be frightened by the theme of Rumpelstiltskin trying to take the child away from the queen. Since, many children are getting kidnapped in the world today; many young viewers may worry about being kidnapped by a little man. Also, since Rumpelstiltskin’s reasons for wanting the child is made unclear, children may fear that Rumpelstiltskin may hurt the baby boy.

“Rumpelstiltskin” is another Rabbit Ears story that is mysterious and haunting, just like “The Fisherman and his Wife,” and is full of engaging music and images that create a wondrous world full of mystery and enchantment. This is a great film for the whole family watch, but parents must warn their children about the theme of child-kidnapping before letting them watch this video.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre:  Magic / Royalty / Fantasy

Year Published:1938

Year Read:  2006

Publisher:   Random House Books for Young Readers

“The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” is one of Dr. Seuss’ earlier books as it is not written in the rhyming text that Dr. Seuss has been well known for. “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” is about a young boy named Bartholomew Cubbins who discovers that every time he takes a hat off his head, a new one sprouts up on his head, which cause trouble for him when the king finds out about it. This book may be a bit too dark for smaller children, but older children will definitely enjoy this classic tale from Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss’ early book is not written in the traditional rhyming text that he has been known for, but is instead written in a splendid narrative that is told in an extremely exciting and effective way. The story is also extremely creative as hats appeared on Bartholomew’s head with a real explanation which makes the matter mysterious. Dr. Seuss’ illustrations are once again in black and white with the exception of Bartholomew’s hats which are colored red, which effectively show how the hat has a huge importance to the story.

Parents should know that the scenes where the King threatened to cut Bartholomew's head off because Bartholomew could not take the hats off might disturb some children. Parents might want to read this book first to see if their child could handle such intense subject matter.

“The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” is a wonderful tale that is both exciting and suspenseful for many children and will be enjoyed by many children for years to come. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up because of the extreme dark tone that this book presents that would scare smaller children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog