Somewhat in the manner of James Marshall's humorous renditions of favorite tales, but with iconoclastic additions freely incorporated into the spritely retelling (``Spin this straw into gold...or you will be fed to the Royal Crocodiles'')- -including a novel postcript: once the baby is saved, ``Ruby'' becomes a good Queen who takes over the royal duties, ``leaving the King to count his treasure''; her greedy husband eventually falls into the crocodile pool with a bag of gold and is ``never seen again.'' The lighthearted tone extends to the illustrations, where the characters all look like cheerful children; even Rumpelstiltskin is a merry elf with hardly a mischievous gleam in his eye. Not essential, but an entertaining update, attractively produced. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-8)
