Twelve Dancing Princesses

By Open Road Integrated Media

Children will adore this charmingly illustrated retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ classic fairytale.

Twelve princesses, each lovelier than the flower she was named for, find themselves at the center of a baffling mystery. Each night they go to bed, locked securely in their room. But in the morning, their dancing shoes are worn thin—as though they’d been dancing all night!

A handsome suitor discovers that the princesses are enchanted, and that each night, in their sleep, they travel to a magical world to dance at a ball. Will this handsome suitor be able to break the spell and rescue the princesses?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452105802

Book preview

Reviews for Twelve Dancing Princesses

[allisonpollack-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Summary: Twelve princesses are locked in a room every night but in the morning their shoes are worn to shreds. Their father, the king, wants to find out how that is possible and enlists help from a soldier returning from the war. He gets an enchanted cloak from an old woman and follows the princesses as they escape through a trap door and go out dancing with 12 princes. The soldier tells the king and the sisters confess, and the princes are cursed for as many times as they danced with the princesses.Personal connection: I read another book that had the same premise as this book, and had also seen a Barbie movie with a similar storyline. I never knew it was based off of an older piece of literature.Class use: This story was adapted from the Grimm brothers, so explore their stories and have students find a favorite and do a presentation.

[aholli3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, this was a great book. I absolutely loved the language and the illustrations throughout it. The author uses many higher level vocabulary, such as "proclamation," "examined," "researched," "explored," etc. in order to explain to the readers that all of the scientists were trying to solve the sleeping princess mystery. The reason that I love this vocabulary usage is because it not only adds to the story, but it allows for young children to ask questions, such as "what does this word mean?" This promotes higher level thinking when children are reading books for enjoyment. Additionally, I enjoyed the illustrations in the book because they were very colorful, detailed, and entertaining. When the princesses traveled through the forest of "shimmering, shining, and glimmering trees," the illustrations portrayed it just as it sounds. This is appealing for the readers eyes, and it makes the story easier to visualize. Overall, the big message of the story was that not all rewards have to be materialistic, rather some can be just a simple true love.

[torilynae · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book. The style of writing was very entertaining and the plot kept me entertained through the whole book. The writer included lots of dialogue to make you really feel like you were in the story trying to figure out why the princesses were always tired and their shoes were worn. It was entertaining when the writer said clever things like “They inspected and inquired, searched and researched, examined and explored.” “And, of course, they all lived happily ever after.” The writers word choice helped to keep me engaged the entire time. The plot was entertaining; trying to figure out why the princesses were so tired and their shoes were worn made you want to keep flipping the page. Pip was trying to win the heart of Poppy and in the end they got married. The main idea of this book is you don’t need to be a “…scientist, scholar, doctor, or detective…” you are still “…more clever and brave than all the wisest people in the kingdom put together…”

[grgenius_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The cover image above doesn't even begin to do it justice....really! With every turn of the page the tale unfolds with a picture even more beautiful than the last. You'll be charmed by the young princesses as they indulge in their unknown nightly festivities with zest and vigor whilst during the day, they drag their feet too tired to even show any effort. You'll swoon as the young royal shoemaker explores the reasons behind the young ladies sudden shoe abuse and reveals such a courageous and noble heart...even the king makes recognition. You'll be amazed at the underground world the ladies swirl and twirl through,unseen by their sleeping eyes. For those who've never read the original story to those who are conesseurs of the fairytale world, this is one edition I'd certainly recommend adding to your collection. Young readers will not doubt enjoy the story as they pick their favorite princess to follow throughout (mine would be Poppy and Bluebell as I adore their dress colors!), while older readers will marvel at the extensive color pallette explored in this rendition; a true masterpiece through and through. *review copy received in exchange for my honest review