Given to me by Carole Shipley ( )

I totally bought this book thinking that it was by another illustrator, but even though it wasn't quite what I expected it is a solid addition to my fairytale collection. The tale of the princesses who disappear at night to dance the soldes of their shoes through is a classic of the genre and Meyer and Craft do a great job of retelling the story. They set their tale in an era reminiscent of the Rennaisance in France, where they can explore the luscious costumes that accompany court masquerades and heighten the romance of the story. They may not be accurate historically, but the illustrations seem to glow and the magic of the story is easy to connect with. Like most folktales of old, they steer clear of any examination of the events on a deeper level, so we readers are left wondering why the princesses sneak away to dance every night. There is some sort of curse from the old woman who tells the queen's fortune, but she does not seem to be tha cause of the curt and just reveals that it exists. The King and Queen are also very unexplored characters, so besides the Queen's untimely death and the King's harsh choice to sequester his daughters we don't get to see their rule of their kingdom enacted. Ultimately I was left with more questions than answers by the end of the story, but this makes the tale ripe for a modern interpretation. ( )

Lush illustrations by K.Y. Craft coupled with the highly imaginative version of this tale, make this a five star illustrated book.

There were twelve lovely sisters, each one beautifully different from the others, and collectively all were stunningly attractive. When Peter, a farm boy from a local village felt it was time to leave his life and start a new. Learning of the twelve princesses, he vowed to capture the heart of one and marry her. Previously, each suitor that asked for the hand of a princess was turned away.

Each night the King locked his lovely daughters in a beautiful room with twelve beautiful beds. Each morning, much to the King's amazement, the soles of all slippers were shredded to pieces. The king wondered how this happened since he made very sure they could not get out at night, nor could anyone get in.

Before her death her mother consulted a fortune teller who said that until the secret is found , they daughters cannot marry.

When the darkness filled the night sky, the princesses were transported to a magical place when the eldest sister knocked three times on her bed, as winding staircase appeared. Gleefully, the princesses escaped to a place where all those who previously tried to obtain their love were forever bound to dance with the princesses throughout the night into the morning.

Peter, now the gardener of the palace, found a flower that rendered him invisible. Using this flower, he silently crept into the bedroom and watched and followed the princesses where they danced all night.

The youngest sister was the one who caught his eye. Where he invisibly walked home with the princesses, a petal from the magical flower snapped, but safely he arrived back in time. The next day, he took a stem from the magical flower and placed it into the youngest daughter's bouquet.

When confronted, Peter vowed he would never break the secret even though they offered money to him for his silence.

Because of his humbleness and truthfulness, the spell was broken and he was able to have the hand of the youngest sister. ( )

This book has the most beautiful illustrations. And the story is very compelling. Each night the 12 princesses dance through their dancing shoes and the kingdom wonders why. But only a lowly farm boy can find out the truth. This is one of the best versions of this story available. ( )

The king does not understand how his daughters keep wearing out their dancing shoes each night. Desperate to find out why, he has some one find out for him. His reward being marrying one of the princesses. Princes try and fail to solve the mystery, until a gardener is able to out smart the princesses to solve the mystery. Students can compare and contrast this version of the story to other versions. They can predict what they think will happen throughout the book and they can create their own fractured fairy tale version of this story. ( )