The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Tales from Grimm

by Naomi Lewis (Adapted by), Lidia Postma (Illustrator), Jacob Grimm

A collection of fourteen fairy-tales, including: The Twelve Dancing Princesses; Cinderella; Thousandfurs; The Donkey; The Mongoose; Hansel and Gretel; The Spirit in the Bottle; One-eye, Two-eyes, Three Eyes; Iron Hans; The Nixie of the Mill Pond; Jorinda and Joringel; The Golden Bird; The Three Little Men in the Wood; Snow White.

Genres: Childrens

100 pages, Hardcover

Published March 17, 1986

About the author

British poet, essayist, literary critic, anthologist and reteller of stories for children. She is particularly noted for her translations of the Danish children’s author, Hans Christian Andersen, as well as for her critical reviews and essays. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this collection of fourteen fairy-tales from the Brothers Grimm because it is illustrated by Dutch artist Lidia Postma, whose work my friend Suna had enthusiastically recommended to me. I'm glad I did, as I enjoyed both illustrations and text, and appreciated the mix of better and lesser-known tales included by editor and translator Naomi Lewis. Some of the selections here, from the titular The Twelve Dancing Princesses, in which a poor soldier solves the puzzle of the king's daughters, and their night-time shenanigans, to Hansel and Gretel, in which two siblings are abandoned in the forest by their parents, and eventually find their way to an edible house belonging to a witch, will be very familiar to readers. Everyone (I sincerely hope) has heard of Cinderella and Snow White, which are also included, but some of the other selections might either be unknown to them, or might be the sort that they've only seen in larger collections.

The immensely disturbing Thousandfurs (retold elsewhere as Many Furs ), with its themes of incest, the "enchanted bridegroom" story of The Donkey, the Aladdin-like The Spirit in the Bottle, are all tales that are retold less frequently. Readers will be familiar with Iron Hans, but will they know the story of The Mongoose, which also depicts a prince who is aided in the winning of his princess? One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes, about three sisters, each of whom have a different number of eyes, is beloved of a number of friends of mine, but I can't say I often see it anthologized. The Golden Bird, which always strikes me as a German variant of the more famous Russian The Tale of Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire-bird and Grey Wolf (except with a fox, rather than a wolf), is another one I don't see that frequently; while The Three Little Men in the Wood, which is strongly reminiscent of the Grimm tale concerning Mother Holly, is one I can't recall reading before (although I must have, since I've read the complete Grimm on a number of occasions).

As someone who loves fairy-tales of all kinds, and the Brother Grimm in particular, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion - barring some sort of revisionist misinterpretation or butchered translation - that I would enjoy The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Tales from Grimm. But the artwork by Lidia Postma - the real reason, as mentioned above, that I selected this specific collection - greatly enhanced my reading experience. The paintings here have a soft, sometimes indistinct quality to them, at times, but are still immensely expressive. I particularly liked the one depicting the princesses crossing the underground lake (as seen on the cover), and the one of the melancholy donkey, holding his lute. Postma captures both the mystery and excitement of these stories very well, making me eager to track down more of her work.

[Kelley Johnston]

This book has so many short tales in it and they all could have different meanings to them. The Mongoose is about a young princess that thinks the world of herself and no man is good enough. She has three men come to try to win over her love and the first two fail. The third begs for another chance to prove that he is worthy. So he tried and tried and finally succeeded. I read this to my daughter and she loved it. She is young and does not understand all the underlining in the story. She saw it as a funny story of a prince acting crazy and she was happy that he did it and won the princess. I think people are reading to much into the story and forgetting they are just fairytales.


Another one is Hansel and Gretel, a classic we all have heard and love. This one in this book is a little different then I remember. I remember the kids running away from home and leaving bread crumbs to find their way home. But in the story the mom is the one wanting to get rid of the children so that her and the father wont starve. The dad does not agree but does it anyway. The children leave rocks the first time and find their way home, but the second time their mom tries this they overhear and leave bread crumbs which are eatin by the birds. They end up not getting home and end up in a witches house. They finally burn the witch and find their way home to find mom has died and they live happy ever after. A little different then i remember but still read it to my children and they loved it.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book so many times, I have lost count. I fell in love with this book several years ago when I found it in the library.

One of the main reasons I liked it, was because it introduced new fairy tales to me. I gained several new favorite fairy tales, including "Thousandfurs," "The Three Little Men in the Wood," and "One-eye, Two-eyes, and Three-eyes." In addition, the prose was written exactly as the Grimm Brothers originally penned it (or at least, as near as I can tell), which adds to the authenticity and enchantment of the tales.

I also love the illustrations. They are not what one would find in more modern fairy tale books, considering the book was published 30 years prior to the time I am writing this. The illustrations are creative, picturing various scenes in the book with an enchanting look and a sometimes bizarre character.

I hope I can find a decent copy of this book to buy sometime soon, considering it is no longer in print.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection on the original Grimm fairy tales are have all of the classic stories which are a sharp contrast to the fuzzy stories that most students (and myself) were read as bedtime stories. I could use this in middle school and high school literature classes to compare the different versions of the stories to that of the time period in which they were produced. Additionally, students could select multiple Grimm tales that share common themes or motifs and write a literary analysis paper on those literary elements.

[Chinenye Mba]

This is an amazing short classic traditional fairy tale that follows a pattern that happens every night.
The 12 princesses slept in one bedroom, the king shuts the door and makes sure they cannot get out through the door. However, at midnight, they dress up, go through an underground stairway in their bedroom to the woods and row across the sea to a castle with 12 princes in 12 boats. They dance through the night and get back to the palace at dawn. In the morning, they are all very tired and their shoes are mysteriously worn out. The king buys a new pair of shoes for them and the pattern gets repeated again. On the decree of the king, a soldier uncovers their secret and marries the princess of his choice.
This story reminds me of Cinderella who went dancing in the night at a palace and got married to a prince afterwards. It also follows the story of Princess Genevieve and her eleven sisters as they go to a magical world where their wishes come true.
The lesson in this story is that children should be allowed to experience and live out their childhood as they grow up, being taught good morals and monitored appropriately. In addition, it is important for parents to build great relationships with their children. Furthermore, children should be obedient to adults and obey instructions.

[Morcys · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second best collection of Grimm's Fairy Tales

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BESIDES THE ENDING OF COURSE I WISH THE PRINCESS ENDED UP MARRYING THE PRINCE

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

o The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Tales from Grimm by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, and Lidia Postma
o Genre: Traditional literature – Fairy Tale
o Awards: none
o Grades: 3-5
o Main characters: the 12 princesses love to go out dancing in secret – the eldest is stern and always believes she is right, while the youngest is more hesitant and fearful. A confident soldier discovers where they go and becomes a prince.
o What other versions of the story are you familiar with: I am not familiar with other versions of this story, though I have heard of a book that is a spin off called The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler.
o Would you use this story for storytelling: This would be a fun story to read aloud, however, it would be best for upper elementary as there are some dark elements to it.