The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Both the text and illustrations excel in this fairy tale. This is a memorable book.

This book is a wonderful fairly tale about twelve princesses. Every night the twelve princesses wear down their new dancing shoes. However, the King does not understand how because he locks the door to their room every night so there is not way that they can get out, but every morning their dancing shoes are torn. Many men have tried to discover the secret however none succeeded. Until one young man discovers their secret, using magic. It is like many other fairy tales in which the characters live happily ever after, however I like this book because of the magical way that they young man finds out the princesses secret. Also the illustrations are great, and the author does a great job at showing the mystical world of fantasy.

Richly written and illustrated, this book doesn't disappoint. So many fairy tale books go only half-way--either they have great pictures or a well-written story. This is not one of those. Marianna Mayer tells the story with lovely detail and a highly enjoyable style. And the artwork--well, look at the cover! The artwork is amazing! The portrait of Princess Elise almost jumps off the page (or invites you into it, whichever you prefer). And don't overlook the sidebar illustrations on each text page--they add a deeper dimension to the story by giving the reader a glimpse of the magical setting. This book is truly enchanting.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a wonderful, magical story in it's own right. Marianna Mayer has woven this tale with sumptuos words that make this book delightful to read out loud. The drawings are so lovely, detailed, and beautifully drawn that both my daughter and I have spent hours looking at the pictures! This is an important book for its beauty and its ability to activate your imagination.