The Twelve Dancing Princesses - Hardcover

Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm; Carter, Anne; Dalton, Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0397323727 ISBN 13: 9780397323722

Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1989

Synopsis

A young man finally discovers how the king's twelve daughters wear out their shoes every night while they are supposedly sleeping in their locked bedroom

About this title

Reviews

Grade 2-4-- Carter has chosen the elaborate French version of the Grimms' simple tale as the basis of her retelling. A handsome young cowherd named Michael, with the aid of a mysterious lady and two enchanted laurel trees, discovers how the king's 12 bewitched daughters dance their slippers full of holes each night and marries the youngest princess. Carter's text is much more smoothly written than Mayer's (Morrow, 1989), with an easy flow and a slight formality that suits the mannered tale well. Subtle touches of humor and hints that there may be more to the story than readers are being told add depth and help to maintain readers' interest. Unfortunately, Dalton's illustrations undermine that interest. Her faces are particularly distracting--flat and insipid and unbelievable. The beautiful and haughty princesses only look vapid, with the same expression (or lack thereof) repeated over and over. In an elaborate double-page spread, when Princess Lina declares her love for Michael, both central figures look like dolts. Their round, open mouths and awkward postures detract from the drama of the scene and make it hard to take the story seriously. Faces aside, Dalton does an effective job with the settings. The silver forest is glitters, the costumes have an appropriate confectionery richness, and the small drawings that appear on several pages add a nice decorative note. Overall, this is a serviceable addition to collections in which illustrated folk and fairy tales are in demand, and should find further use as a read-aloud. --Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0397323727
• ISBN 13: 9780397323722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32