As we go through our 30-Minute Reading Challenge with you and we highlight #fairytales this morning, the book my family has chosen to read is Rapunzel. This was a book Suzzane used to enjoy reading. Have you read Rapunzel?

My family chose this book because it is much more than a lady locked away in a tower who lets down her hair. Although, if you ask Charlie and David they would say that’s all it is.

Which is the 30 Minute Reading Challenge is more than just reading it teaches us things about books we may not have none. Come join us today as were highlighting different things about Rapunzel that you may or may not have known.

And please remember that this post contains my affiliate links. If you click on one of the links and make a purchase, I may receive a small percentage from that purchase. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it does help support Greatful Moments and allows us to continue bringing you stories, activities, printables, and family-friendly content.

In the meantime, come and join me! And if you don’t have a copy of Rapunzel, that’s perfectly okay. You can most likely find a copy at your local library, borrow one from a friend, or choose another book entirely. The important part is that you spend 30 minutes reading today.

Remember if you read today and your doing either our Halloween Gift Guide Interactive Challenge or our Fall Gift Guide Interactive Challenge you will be able to pick up a ticket for either or both challenges to help you earn a prize at the end of the challenges.

Now let’s get to business and talk about Rapunzel. If your like my family when you hear the name Rapunzel, you probably immediately think about a girl with incredibly long hair sitting in a tower.

And yes, that’s part of the story. But there is so much more to discover. Depending on the version you read, Rapunzel’s story includes a witch or enchantress, a prince, a mysterious tower, secrets, danger, and a journey toward freedom.

That’s quite a bit more interesting than simply letting down a really long braid! So today, we’re going to look at some of the things that make Rapunzel such an interesting fairy tale. Gather your friends and family and join us.

Rapunzel is a young girl who is taken away and raised by a powerful witch or enchantress. Eventually, she is kept in a tall tower with no ordinary way to get out. The tower becomes one of the most recognizable parts of the story.

And then there is Rapunzel’s famous hair. Her hair is so long that the witch uses it to climb into the tower. That is probably the part of the story most people remember. But what happens next is what makes the story worth reading.

Yes, Rapunzel has a prince. The prince discovers the tower and eventually discovers Rapunzel. Their meeting changes the direction of the story, but the prince isn’t the only important character.

There is also someone standing between Rapunzel and the freedom she wants. Which is one of the things I think children will enjoy talking about is the fact that Rapunzel actually has a villain.

The villain is the witch, or enchantress, who keeps Rapunzel locked away. That gives us a completely different way to look at the story. Why does the witch keep Rapunzel? What does she want? Why doesn’t she want Rapunzel to leave?

And what happens when she discovers that Rapunzel has been meeting the prince? Those questions give us plenty to discuss after our 30 minutes of reading which makes this a wonderful #Homeschool Lesson.

Here’s something you may not know. Animals aren’t an important part of the original classic Rapunzel story. Some newer retellings may add animals or other characters, especially versions created for younger children.

That gives us another great reading challenge: If you have more than one version of Rapunzel, compare them. Did the author change anything? Did they add characters? Did they change the ending?

Did they make the story funny, adventurous, scary, or more modern? Reading different versions of the same fairy tale can be a wonderful way to show children how stories can be retold.

Now let’s become Fairy-Tale Detectives. What makes Rapunzel a fairy tale instead of an ordinary story? Look for the clues. There is an extraordinary setting. There is a witch or enchantress. There is a prince.

There is something unusual and almost impossible about Rapunzel’s hair. There is danger. There is a problem that needs to be solved. And there is a journey that changes the characters’ lives. These are some of the things that help make Rapunzel a fairy tale.

Now here’s where I think Rapunzel becomes even more fun for us. We’re working on our Fall Gift Guide, and I think a beautiful Rapunzel book could make a wonderful addition to a fall reading basket.

Think about a cozy fall afternoon. A child has a favorite blanket, a warm drink, maybe a little snack, and a good fairy tale to read. That’s an activity that doesn’t require a screen. It doesn’t require a complicated craft. It doesn’t require a lot of preparation. It simply requires a book and a little time.

And because there is a witch in Rapunzel, this fairy tale also fits beautifully into our Halloween season. We don’t have to make it scary. We can simply use it as a fun Halloween-season reading choice.

A Rapunzel book could go into a Halloween book basket along with other fairy tales and children’s stories. Instead of giving only candy, you could even give a child a book that they can enjoy long after Halloween is over.

Here’s another thing I love about books. A good fairy tale can become a wonderful Christmas gift. A Rapunzel book could be paired with pajamas, a cozy blanket, a bookmark, a reading journal, or another favorite book to create a simple Christmas reading basket.

And unlike many toys, a book can be enjoyed again and again. It can become a bedtime story. A family read-aloud. A homeschool activity. A quiet afternoon activity. Or part of our 30-Minute Reading Challenge. One book can give you many opportunities.

Even though Charlie has graduated, we haven’t forgotten our homeschool families. Greatful Moments is not a homeschool blog, and we’re not trying to turn it into one. But homeschooling is part of family life for many of our readers, and we want our reading challenges and printables to be useful for those families, too.

Rapunzel can easily become a homeschool reading activity. You can discuss the characters. Talk about the setting. Identify the problem and solution. Look for fairy-tale characteristics. Compare different versions. Write a new ending. Or simply read for 30 minutes. Sometimes learning doesn’t have to feel like school. Sometimes it starts with a good story.

To go along with today’s challenge, we’ve created a Rapunzel Fairy-Tale Reading & Discussion Sheet. The printable gives children a chance to think about the story before, during, and after reading.

They’ll answer questions about the characters and setting, identify the problem, look for fairy-tale characteristics, and think about what they would do if they were Rapunzel.

Our Fairy-Tale Detective section is especially fun because it asks readers to look for the clues that tell us this is a fairy tale. And, of course, there is a little imagination involved, too. Because that’s what books are supposed to do. They are supposed to make us imagine.

So let’s get started. Find your copy of Rapunzel. If you don’t own one, check your local library. And if you can’t find Rapunzel, that’s okay, too. Choose any book you want. The goal of our challenge isn’t to make everyone read the same book.

The goal is to encourage everyone to read for 30 minutes a day. Set your timer. Find a comfortable place. Turn the pages. And see where your imagination takes you. Then come back and tell us:

What did you discover about Rapunzel that you didn’t know before? And here’s my question for you: If you were Rapunzel and finally got out of the tower, where would you go first?

Happy reading!

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates