Book cover for Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt

Straw into Gold

2009 Released
176 Pages
3-4 Hours
Audiobook Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
Clarion BooksISBN 9780547532011

What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold? By order of the king, two boys, Tousle and Innes, must find the answer to this puzzling riddle within seven days or be killed. A former nursemaid to the queen’s child tells the boys that the banished queen may have the answer they seek. Danger presents itself at every turn, for the boys are pursued by the Great Barons, who are secretly plotting against the king. Another pursuer, the greedy King’s Grip, reveals a strange story of a little man who once spun straw into gold of incredible beauty for the queen but then disappeared with her firstborn son. Tousle realizes that the man he calls Da is the strange little man and, even more amazing, that he himself may be the lost prince. Or could it be Innes, who although cruelly blinded can hear the music of the dawn?

This skillful blend of fantasy and adventure reveals what might have happened before the queen makes her third and last guess and the story of Rumpelstiltskin—as we know it—ends.


  • Rumpelstiltskin Continued: This story picks up where the classic tale ends, revealing the fate of the queen, the king, and the little man who disappeared with the firstborn son.
  • An Epic Quest for Kids: Two boys, Tousle and Innes, have only seven days to solve the king's deadly riddle. Their perilous journey will test their courage and their friendship.
  • A World of Magic and Danger: Pursued by ruthless barons and the fearsome King's Grip, the boys must navigate a kingdom where a mysterious man named Da can spin straw into gold.
  • Courage and Friendship: One boy may be royalty, the other is cruelly blinded but gifted. Together, they must rely on each other to survive and uncover the truth.

Gary D. Schmidt

Gary D. Schmidt is the bestselling author of The Labors of Hercules Beal; Just Like That; National Book Award finalist Okay for Now; Pay Attention, Carter Jones; Orbiting Jupiter; the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor Book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; and the Newbery Honor Book The Wednesday Wars. He is also coauthor, with Ron Koertge, of A Day at the Beach and Styx and Stones. He lives in rural Michigan.

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