The Twelve Princesses

A "just ducky" retelling of the traditional Brothers Grimm tale follows the king's twelve daughters who wear out their shoes every night while they are supposedly sleeping in their locked bedrooms.

Kindergarten-Grade 5-This condensed retelling of the Grimms' story lacks the flowing vocabulary and descriptive detail that are characteristic of a well-told fairy tale. The clipped text, with its many multi-phrase sentences, rushes readers through the tale, making for a very unsatisfying read-aloud. More than a third of the sentences begin with conjunctions. The highlight of this retelling is clearly Fitchett's busy colored-pencil art crafted in grainy jewel tones with the sophisticated humor of The New Yorker cartoons. His characters are ducks whose "palaces" are glorified duck nesting boxes, and whose "kingdoms" encompass spans of picturesque lakes, mountains, and trees. The duck princesses and their princes are coifed and dressed in a multitude of styles. Retellings by Jane Ray (Dutton, 1996) and Marianna Mayer (Morrow, 1989), illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft, hold to the descriptiveness of the original tale, although there are small differences in detail in each of them. Both would be duckier additions to folklore collections.
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An all-duck cast gives a campy spin to a Brothers Grimm classic in Fitchett's first children's book. While the text is relatively faithful to the original, the art replaces romance with an abundance of quirkily comic details. The nocturnal dancing siblings, for example, sport an amusing spectrum of hair styles, from a golden spiked 'do to a pink beehive, and their array of multicolored platform shoes and spike heels would turn Imelda Marcos green with envy. Bedecked in jewels and a range of outrageous fashionsAwith lipstick meticulously applied to the edges of their beaksAthe vain duckling sisters sneak out to meet dashing, equally garishly clad duck princes who whisk them off in an eclectic fleet of rowboats to a stylized, mid-lake castle. Fitchett achieves a deadpan styleAworking in colored pencil, he creates pebble-textured compositions with a deceptively formal mood. This fun, funky rendition may not edge out Jane Ray's or Kinuko Y. Craft's more traditional versions of the same story, but it marks Fitchett as a newcomer to watch. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

High-fashion ducks rendered in rich color pencil star in an otherwise ordinary retelling of this Grimms fairytale. The shoes of the king’s 12 daughters are mysteriously worn out every morning as if they had been danced in all night. The king has promised to reward the prince who could spend the night with the princesses and discover their secret. Prince after prince is tricked by the princesses and beheaded. Eventually an old soldier meets a woman on the road who gives him an invisible cloak and warns him not to drink anything that the princesses give him. Newcomer Fitchett’s richly textured, highly detailed wardrobes for the princesses are amusing. The black lace-up boots, stiletto heels, funky-chunky platforms, and sexy slides are all worthy of a spread in Women’s Wear Daily. The sanguine expressions, highlighted in thick red lipstick, on all of the ducks display an unexplained ennui. Close observers will be able to spot a princess not only dancing but also skinny-dipping at the party. Unfortunately, the text does not match the humorous and lush illustrations in wittiness or style, but those ducks do have a certain appeal. (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8) -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.