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The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Night after night, the twelve princesses mysteriously wear out their shoes. But how? The king promises a great reward to any man who can solve the mystery. Rachel Isadora has reimagined this Brothers Grimm fairytale by bringing the story of the twelve princesses to Africa.
32 pages, Paperback
Published November 12, 2009
About the author
Rachel Isadora
92 books81 followersRachel Isadora is an award-winning children's author and illustrator. She has written children's books on multiple topics including ballet, life in America and Africa, and has illustrated several Brother Grimm tales in an African setting. She is most well-known for her Caldecott Honor Award book "Ben's Trumpet". She was a ballet dancer before she became an illustrator and children's writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
March 18, 2012
Another blahsome retelling of a Brothers Grimm story by Rachel Isadora. These retellings have all the personality of a wet paper bag. The artwork is cool, but what about the STORY? Kids want excitement and fun, not a Wikipedia synopsis.
Two questions here as well:
1) How are these princesses able to do this every single night? They are (presumably) awake all day, doing princessly things, and then all night long they traipse through the woods, dance until their shoes are worn through, and then traipse BACK through the woods to go home. How much dancing do you think it would actually take to wear through a pair of shoes every night? Even a thin pair of slippers? I think a lot. How are they not exhausted?
This leads me back to the story having no personality... A little magic would add a lot to this story. For instance if the slippers themselves are magic, or each new pair is imbued with magic, and they are able to extend the night and dance as much as they want without getting tired as long as they are wearing the slippers, but when they wear through, they must go back and sleep. Or maybe they have a deal with 5 Hour Energy and get unlimited supply. Something!
2) How friggin' selfish & sociopathic are these bitches that they will allow men to come try to figure out their secret, and pretty much condemn them to death by sedating them with spiked wine? I mean jeez... You'd think that King Daddy would cut off THEIR heads after a while! Think how much they must be costing him. 12 pairs of shoes a night for uncounted nights, plus secret tunnel installation, plus sedatives, and wine to put it in, plus Headman & axe, plus Headman's salary and grinding wheel for axe upkeep, and body and blood cleanup and head recovery personnel and their salaries...
I know MY dad wouldn't put up with that. He'd make me go barefoot at the very least.
Two questions here as well:
1) How are these princesses able to do this every single night? They are (presumably) awake all day, doing princessly things, and then all night long they traipse through the woods, dance until their shoes are worn through, and then traipse BACK through the woods to go home. How much dancing do you think it would actually take to wear through a pair of shoes every night? Even a thin pair of slippers? I think a lot. How are they not exhausted?
This leads me back to the story having no personality... A little magic would add a lot to this story. For instance if the slippers themselves are magic, or each new pair is imbued with magic, and they are able to extend the night and dance as much as they want without getting tired as long as they are wearing the slippers, but when they wear through, they must go back and sleep. Or maybe they have a deal with 5 Hour Energy and get unlimited supply. Something!
2) How friggin' selfish & sociopathic are these bitches that they will allow men to come try to figure out their secret, and pretty much condemn them to death by sedating them with spiked wine? I mean jeez... You'd think that King Daddy would cut off THEIR heads after a while! Think how much they must be costing him. 12 pairs of shoes a night for uncounted nights, plus secret tunnel installation, plus sedatives, and wine to put it in, plus Headman & axe, plus Headman's salary and grinding wheel for axe upkeep, and body and blood cleanup and head recovery personnel and their salaries...
I know MY dad wouldn't put up with that. He'd make me go barefoot at the very least.
August 8, 2016
Gorgeous illustrations, and a nice, succinct retelling of kind of a crappy folk tale. Nothing against Isadora here - she added appealing things to a tale that was just yucky to begin with. If you're curious, my beef with this story is the ending [spoiler alert!] - the prince who follows the princesses gets to marry the oldest princess, and apparently they live happily ever after... even though this princess has been going out WITH A DIFFERENT PRINCE, OF HER OWN FREE WILL and dancing all night long with him. I guess her opinions don't matter here. Arg. Anyway.
January 29, 2021
I thought that an African retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" would be really interesting, but it's just a reductionist, paint-by-numbers version of the story with African-inspired art. The author did nothing to adapt the story to a non-Western context, and the illustrations are all close-ups, without any world-building for the setting or the type of dwelling that the royal family lived in. The art style is nice, but the book doesn't work for me as a retelling at all, and the wedding at the end is extremely abrupt.
July 3, 2017
Category/Genre: Traditional
Copyright: 2007
Estimate Grade Level of Interest: K-3
Estimate Reading Level: Grades 3-4
Brief Description: The king wants to know where his twelve daughters go each night and rewards the man who can figure it out.
Traditional literature includes folktales which tell a direct and entertaining story that also covers an important theme. The Twelve Dancing Princesses was originally a folktale by the Brothers Grimm and is retold here by illustrator Rachel Isadora, using her unique collage art and showing characters who are African. The theme here is a bit troubling and sexist to say the least: the man who can figure do the father's bidding by figuring out where the daughters go each night gets to marry one of his daughters. While the daughters seem empowered enough to sneak out each night to dance with princes of their own choice, as a consequence, one of them has to marry the prince of her father's choice. This is a modern retelling of a very old and outdated fairy tale.
The book could serve its audience in that the illustrations and artwork are engaging and the book features non-white characters. However, I would not choose this book to read with students unless we had the opportunity to discuss the themes and events in the book from a feminist and critical eye. I chose the book based on the colorful cover, not knowing the story. I assume students might do the same.
Awards: none
Citations: Booklist, 12/2007; SLJ, 12/2007; Horn Book, Sept 2007
Copyright: 2007
Estimate Grade Level of Interest: K-3
Estimate Reading Level: Grades 3-4
Brief Description: The king wants to know where his twelve daughters go each night and rewards the man who can figure it out.
Traditional literature includes folktales which tell a direct and entertaining story that also covers an important theme. The Twelve Dancing Princesses was originally a folktale by the Brothers Grimm and is retold here by illustrator Rachel Isadora, using her unique collage art and showing characters who are African. The theme here is a bit troubling and sexist to say the least: the man who can figure do the father's bidding by figuring out where the daughters go each night gets to marry one of his daughters. While the daughters seem empowered enough to sneak out each night to dance with princes of their own choice, as a consequence, one of them has to marry the prince of her father's choice. This is a modern retelling of a very old and outdated fairy tale.
The book could serve its audience in that the illustrations and artwork are engaging and the book features non-white characters. However, I would not choose this book to read with students unless we had the opportunity to discuss the themes and events in the book from a feminist and critical eye. I chose the book based on the colorful cover, not knowing the story. I assume students might do the same.
Awards: none
Citations: Booklist, 12/2007; SLJ, 12/2007; Horn Book, Sept 2007
March 18, 2021
The twelve dancing princesses is not a fairy tale i have ever heard of until today. The story Rachel Isadora writes is an adaption of the story the brothers Grimm wrote. In the book there are twelve princesses who are locked up in their room at night by their father the king. The shoes of the girls are very worn out although they are not known to go out anywhere. The king wants to know where his daughters are going and tells men that is they can find out where his daughters go than that man can marry one of them. Many men try and the penalty for trying three times and failing is death. One day a man is walking to the palace to try and find out the princesses secret and he passes a lady on the street. He tells the lady where he is going and she says all he needs to do to win is to not drink the wine he is given and to pretend to be asleep. She gives him a invisibility cloak to use to follow the girls. The man follows the girls and sees that they go to meet 12 princes and dance all night. he tells the king the next day and marries the eldest daughter.
This story is strange because the King locks up his daughters and instead of asking them directly where they go he promises their hands in marriage to any stranger who can find out. Also the man who wins is said to be not so young and that is why he picks the eldest daughters. It doesn't say how old but maybe he is like 65 and the eldest princesses is sad she didn't get the marry the prince she dances with.
This story is strange because the King locks up his daughters and instead of asking them directly where they go he promises their hands in marriage to any stranger who can find out. Also the man who wins is said to be not so young and that is why he picks the eldest daughters. It doesn't say how old but maybe he is like 65 and the eldest princesses is sad she didn't get the marry the prince she dances with.
December 2, 2019
4/5 stars
Traditional fantasy-fairytale
3-6th grade
I thought that this went along nicely with what a fairytale should be. I think it brought a great diverse perspective on a normal fairytale and changed it into a new culture! By previous reading, i liked how this author changed the cultural perspective as I believe this will be easier for children in the classroom from other backgrounds to connect. People with American backgrounds have a ton of different fairytale books they can read, and I think that this brings a new idea to mind!
Traditional fantasy-fairytale
3-6th grade
I thought that this went along nicely with what a fairytale should be. I think it brought a great diverse perspective on a normal fairytale and changed it into a new culture! By previous reading, i liked how this author changed the cultural perspective as I believe this will be easier for children in the classroom from other backgrounds to connect. People with American backgrounds have a ton of different fairytale books they can read, and I think that this brings a new idea to mind!
August 3, 2017
2 stars for the storytelling (it was okay, a lot of the magic and mystic of the original story was left out of this book and I found it wanting) and 4 stars for the artwork (the traditional art is beautiful and I loved the use of texture and volor). I enjoyed it mostly for the artwork and that's why I'd recommend others checking it out.
April 28, 2026
If you’ve ever seen the Barbie Version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, this is just a little bit different. The story has the same core and heart, but is told through a different lens. In the Twelve Dancing Princesses, a king hires a prince to find out where his 12 daughters sneak out and go each night. An old woman gives him an invisibility cloak and he spies on the daughters at the behest of the King. He follows the princesses for three nights and finds out that they are going with soldiers each night and dancing with them. He then tells the king what he has found, the daughters apologize and confess, and he gets to marry the oldest princess and they live happily ever after. The two themes of the book are love, and control vs. independence. The main genre of this book is traditional literature. Children could learn from this book that honesty is the best policy. Lying to your parents is never usually a good idea, and can lead to serious consequences. Additionally, children could learn about a traditional story and what they are like. Traditional literature tends to be very different in style than modern literature, and this is a valuable skill to learn. This book was a WOW for me because the illustrations are beautiful, it puts a cultural spin on a traditionally eurocentric fairy tale, and the writing style is eloquent and beautiful.
One writing craft that the author uses is a limited POV. The story focuses mostly on the prince’s experience, and thereby leads the reader to hear more about his perspective than the other characters. This also lets the readers make more inferences about other characters and events in the book. Another literary device the author uses is symbolism. The three branches the prince picks up represent the three nights he followed the princesses, each night getting more wild and opulent than the last: the silver, gold, and diamond branches. I would consider this book to be an anti-bias book because it retells a traditional fairy tale through a cultural lens it’s not usually told through. This gives children a chance to experience a culture that is potentially outside their own, and also provides a new and stimulating backdrop for the traditional story. It is inclusive and anti-biased.
One writing craft that the author uses is a limited POV. The story focuses mostly on the prince’s experience, and thereby leads the reader to hear more about his perspective than the other characters. This also lets the readers make more inferences about other characters and events in the book. Another literary device the author uses is symbolism. The three branches the prince picks up represent the three nights he followed the princesses, each night getting more wild and opulent than the last: the silver, gold, and diamond branches. I would consider this book to be an anti-bias book because it retells a traditional fairy tale through a cultural lens it’s not usually told through. This gives children a chance to experience a culture that is potentially outside their own, and also provides a new and stimulating backdrop for the traditional story. It is inclusive and anti-biased.
March 8, 2018
The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora
The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora is about a king who had twelve daughters (princesses) that were waiting to be married. The only way the daughters could become married is if a man could discover where the princesses went to during the night. One day a soldier wanted to find out where to princesses went so he went to the king and pretended to be asleep. As he was sleeping he heard the princesses start to make their way to the secret destination so he followed. After two nights of following the princesses, he made his way back to the king telling him where his daughters were hiding. Once the truth was told about his daughters he married the eldest daughter off to the solider.
The fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses teaches the lesson of having morals. This book is a reminder that giving their kids freedom is important. Teens especially will want more and more freedom so they can act like an adult and it is normal. Many fairytales include the same theme, telling parents that if they hold too tight to their child, which will possibly drive their child away.
I feel like this book ended abruptly. I feel like the author could have extended the book a little more to give the reader more knowledge about what was happening in the story. The thing I loved the most about the book was the illustrations. Isadora created rich illustrations that are vivid and inviting to the African culture that the book is talking about.
I would not recommend this book to teachers for their classrooms. The fairytale was confusing and can cause a lot of questions from children who may come across this book. On the other hand, I do think this book could be beautifully used in an art classroom setting using the illustrations as a learning opportunity for African traditions.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora is about a king who had twelve daughters (princesses) that were waiting to be married. The only way the daughters could become married is if a man could discover where the princesses went to during the night. One day a soldier wanted to find out where to princesses went so he went to the king and pretended to be asleep. As he was sleeping he heard the princesses start to make their way to the secret destination so he followed. After two nights of following the princesses, he made his way back to the king telling him where his daughters were hiding. Once the truth was told about his daughters he married the eldest daughter off to the solider.
The fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses teaches the lesson of having morals. This book is a reminder that giving their kids freedom is important. Teens especially will want more and more freedom so they can act like an adult and it is normal. Many fairytales include the same theme, telling parents that if they hold too tight to their child, which will possibly drive their child away.
I feel like this book ended abruptly. I feel like the author could have extended the book a little more to give the reader more knowledge about what was happening in the story. The thing I loved the most about the book was the illustrations. Isadora created rich illustrations that are vivid and inviting to the African culture that the book is talking about.
I would not recommend this book to teachers for their classrooms. The fairytale was confusing and can cause a lot of questions from children who may come across this book. On the other hand, I do think this book could be beautifully used in an art classroom setting using the illustrations as a learning opportunity for African traditions.
November 23, 2020
This folktale tells of 12 princesses who, every night, each mysteriously wear their shoes out to the point where they are not wearable anymore. The king, desperate to know where his daughters sneak off to every night that wears their shoes out, offers the soldiers of the land a reward of marriage to one of his daughters to whoever can successfully find out where his daughters sneak off to. He gives them three days and if they cannot successfully tell him where they went, they are executed. One day, one soldier, on his way to the king, runs into an old woman who informs the soldier to not drink the wine that would be offered to him at the castle, to pretend that he is asleep while he is there, and gives him a cloak that would hide him so that he could follow the princesses. When the soldier got to the castle that night, he pretended that he was asleep. One of the princesses tapped her bed, which sank into the floor and revealed a passageway underground. The princesses began their way in this passage and the soldier, with his invisibility cloak followed them. When they got to the end of the tunnel, a large lake with a Pavillion on the other side was revealed. There were twelve boats with twelve princes that took the princesses across the lake and to the Pavillion. The soldier snuck onto one of the boats. The princesses danced all night until their shoes were worn out and they made their way back home. The soldier was able to successfully tell the king where his daughter went and married the eldest daughter that day. With vivid color and detail, the illustrations in this book really come to life and jump off the page. I think this book would be great to read aloud to upper elementary students.
January 18, 2019
Love the bright illustrations using cut paper collage and African prints.
There's no motivation for the girls going out dancing each night. They're not enchanted or bribed or forced or anything. In fact, the girls don't really have any personality at all. So, from a story standpoint, I think this one misses a lot.
The point of view is mainly from the soldier who figures out what's happening.
Love the line in the beginning about "12 beautiful daughters" with a picture showing a wide variety of appearances (light/dark, short/tall, different hair and features).
There's no explanation for why the girls were locked in every night. When you first encounter it, locking up the 12 girls together in a room each night sounds very odd.
There's no motivation for the girls going out dancing each night. They're not enchanted or bribed or forced or anything. In fact, the girls don't really have any personality at all. So, from a story standpoint, I think this one misses a lot.
The point of view is mainly from the soldier who figures out what's happening.
Love the line in the beginning about "12 beautiful daughters" with a picture showing a wide variety of appearances (light/dark, short/tall, different hair and features).
There's no explanation for why the girls were locked in every night. When you first encounter it, locking up the 12 girls together in a room each night sounds very odd.
November 22, 2020
This is a retelling of a Grimm fairytale about the rebellious princesses that sneak out and go dancing at night. The book stands out for the gorgeous illustrations of the twelve sisters. They are decked out in elaborate and colorful traditional African dress. They are all of different shades and types of hair. This book even shows off beautiful shoes and hats the girls wear. They also wear large elaborate jewelry. The book is whimsical and vibrant. A beautiful retelling of the classic fairytale.
July 11, 2025
I've always loved this Brothers Grimm tale, but this version I found just OK. The collage illustrations were detailed but slightly too busy for my taste, and the pacing of the text just felt slightly off. Still, it's nice to see the princesses and other characters as something other than petite Aryan blondes.
August 14, 2017
August 2017 - I loved this fairy tale as a kid (especially the Faerie Tale Theatre production) but it feels less successful as a story to cut down to picture book length/digestibility (the soldier just chooses a princess, which bothers me way more than, say, the violence in Hansel and Gretel). I do like Isadora's illustrations.
March 22, 2019
This book was neat. It gave us suspense and mystery to whom may discover the princesses hidden place where they sleep. This made me want to keep reading and figure out. During the adventure we get clarity of mystery and adventure as if we were the solider in search of the women. The ending is a great ending to this story. A must read.
April 30, 2022
Collage art, sigh, rarely a fan. A pretty good retelling of a classic tale. Unfortunately there isn't much to the tale. The setting frames as a little different. And the art is different but being collage art, I don't get much from it. That said, the art does seem good. All in all this one is okay, but not great.
April 29, 2024
Isadora's adaptation of the tale is both faithful to the original story and infused with her own unique flair. This story is a beautifully illustrated and engaging retelling of a beloved fairy tale. With its rich imagery, compelling storytelling, and empowering portrayal of sisterhood, it's sure to captivate readers of all ages and inspire them to embark on their own magical adventures.
April 23, 2019
A beautiful spin on the Brothers Grimm classic. My daughter enjoys seeing princesses that look like her. That being said it's a little dark that the princesses are poisoning the men and the king ends up killing them when they fail. The princesses never express guilt for the lives lost.
November 15, 2019
This is an okay book. I like that the princesses are not blonde hair, blued eyed like many think but the marriage at the end is thrown in. I understand that it is a children's story so I will have it in my classroom.
September 15, 2021
A retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale set in Africa.
This retelling is very similar to the version of this story presented in the Fairytale Theater video I grew up with. It's a very quick and succinct retelling. I like the African setting, and Isadora's unique art style.
This retelling is very similar to the version of this story presented in the Fairytale Theater video I grew up with. It's a very quick and succinct retelling. I like the African setting, and Isadora's unique art style.
January 24, 2025
A hidden dance bunker, an invisibility cloak and a truth universally acknowledged: twelve princess must be in want of dance partners. Isadora's African-inspired collage bursts with color brings Grimm's original fairy tale to life, a cultural and contemporary resurrection.
June 9, 2017
Love the illustrations! The retelling of the story isn't my favorite (sometimes a little confusing), but it's fine. And it's a strange story no matter who is telling it, but that's not her fault.
February 17, 2018
“The Twelve Dancing Princesses” by Rachel Isadora, Jacob Grimm
Clever and engaging African adaptation of the classic story, with vivid illustrations.***
Clever and engaging African adaptation of the classic story, with vivid illustrations.***
November 29, 2019
Isadora makes beautiful artwork for picture books, so we borrow a lot of her work from the library. Unfortunately, not a fan of this traditional tale.
August 30, 2021
Beautifully illustrated and adapted fairytale
September 17, 2021
A retelling of the original but set in Africa.
April 20, 2022
the princesses who love to dance
April 27, 2022
I was fascinated with the tale. I think it could count as a folklore since there were elements of it. I can imagine how this story gets told over and over again.
December 2, 2022
Growing Up, Rebellion, Family, Exploring.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews