My first impression of the book came from just the title, which is also what enticed me to read the story. It would also lend itself to analyzing and comparing characters. Since this version of Rumpelstiltskin varies from other versions, this would be excellent to use to compare and contrast to the original version. The language is memorable-there is descriptive language, as well as interesting words and phrases like “confloption” and “oogly little squinny-eyed creature.” This book won the Caldecott Award and contains detailed, pastel-colored pictures that help to tell the story using both single and double page spreads. The characters are strong and the sequence of events is descriptive and easy to follow. This story is well written, with touches of humor.
It aligns with the traditional English tales that are often about “simple folk” who are able to overcome hardships. I enjoyed this story, as it is a recognizable version of Rumpelstilskin however, there are many differences in this version which makes it unique. If she is unable to tell him his name by the end of the three years, he will take her away. Duffy does not really know how to knit and makes a deal with the devil to have him do all of her spinning for three years. A young girl, Duffy, tells Squire Lovel that she “spins like a saint” and “knits like an angel.” Squire Lovel’s current housekeeper is no longer able to knit well, so he brings Duffy home with him in hopes that she will help his housekeeper with the knitting. Source: Goodreads Rumplestiltskin shelvesĭuffy and the Devil is a Cornish version of Rumpelstiltskin. Margot Zemach's pen-and-wash illustrations combine a refined sense of comedy with telling observation of character, felicitous drawing with decorative richness, to a degree that surpasses her own past accomplishments.ĭuffy and the Devil is a 1973 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1974 National Book Award Finalist for Children's Books, and the winner of the 1974 Caldecott Medal. The language spoken by the Christmas players was a rich mixture of local English dialect and Old Cornish (similar to Welsh and Gaelic), and something of this flavor is preserved in Harve Zemach's retelling. Its main themes are familiar, but the character and details of this picture book are entirely Cornish, as robust and distinctive as the higgledy-piggledy, cliff-hanging villages that dot England's southwestern coast from Penzance to Land's End. The Zemachs have interpreted the folk tale which the play dramatized, recognizable as a version of the widespread Rumpelstiltskin story. Duffy and the Devil was a popular play in Cornwall in the nineteenth century, performed at the Christmas season by groups of young people who went from house to house.
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