Today's theme is Fairy Tales for the Middle School Romantic. This is going to be a long one so it'll be split up over several installments.
We'll start out with The Twelve Dancing Princesses:
The original tale can be found in the public domain here.
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George takes a fairly traditional take on the fairy tale but adds some nice twists. The book is narrated by the soldier who takes a job working in the garden and enjoys chatting with the princesses. The story involves evil fairies and the soldiers knitting hobby. It is sweet and beautiful.
Entwined by Heather Dixon provides readers with a very different version of the same tale. The story is told from the point of view of the oldest princess Azalea. When Azalea's mother dies and her father the king leaves and goes off to war Azalea and her sisters are in morning and while in morning they are not allowed to dance. The girls find a secret passageway and make their way to a dance floor where they can dance unseen. The girls go every night to dance and eventually find out that everything isn't as simple as it seems. This version includes much talk of magic and marriage.
This version is longer and more involved than Princess of the Midnight Ball
and a must read for lovers of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.Both of these books are delightful romantic fairy tales that middle schoolers (and high schoolers) will love.
This one will have several installments as there are a ton of wonderful fairytale adaptations. Do you have a favorite?
