Long ago in a kingdom far away, there lived a king and his twelve beautiful princesses. Although they are locked in their room each night, every morning the princesses wake up with their slippers worn through, as if they had been dancing all night long. Who will solve the mystery of the tattered shoes and claim one of the princesses as their bride? With dazzling illustrations by Alison Jay, this is an enchanting retelling of a classic tale.
There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2016 by Templar Publishing .
Alison Jay's signature style, which features distinctive crackle varnishing, has also been featured in Barefoot Books titles Listen, Listen and I Took the Moon for a Walk. Kate Baker is a writer and editor of children's books for all ages on subjects ranging from history and travel, to natural history and mythology. Her books include Highest Mountain, Deepest Ocean and Walk This Wild World.
This book contains the following story:
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The king bans his twelve beautiful daughters from dancing, yet every night their shoes are worn through. The king promises that the man who can solve the mystery will marry one of his daughters - and rule the kingdom. But the princesses are as clever as they are beautiful and do not want to be constrained, and whilst many princes have tried to solve the mystery, all have failed. A poor soldier, seeking the reward, borrows an enchanted cloak from an old woman and is able to follow the princesses as they escape in the night to a castle where they dance with their twelve suitors. Having revealed his discovery to the king he chooses the eldest princess for his bride and becomes the kings heir.