Available:*
Library | Material Type | Item Barcode | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Juvenile Fiction Book Hardback | 120791001966358 | J ZAH | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Zita is not an ordinary servant girl--she's the thirteenth daughter of a king who wanted only sons. When she was born, Zita's father banished her to the servants' quarters to work in the kitchens, where she can only communicate with her royal sisters in secret.
Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, the princesses all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely worn and tattered shoes. With the help of her friends--Breckin the stable boy, Babette the witch, and Milek the soldier--Zita follows her bewitched sisters into a magical world of endless dancing and dreams. But something more sinister is afoot--and unless Zita and her friends can break the curse, the twelve princesses will surely dance to their deaths.
A classic fairy tale with a bold twist, The Thirteenth Princess tells the unforgettable story of a magical castle, true love, spellbound princesses--and the young girl determined to save them all.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Though clearly based on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," this addition to the burgeoning field of fairy-tale novelizations alters the original tale more than most others. It is the youngest-13th-sister, rather than a visiting prince, who discovers why the princesses are wearing out their shoes (and suffering from exhaustion). Zahler has created this sister and her complicated backstory with somewhat uneven success. For the first seven years of her life, Zita's been banished to the kitchen of the very palace where (unbeknownst to her) her father and sisters dwell. Her father evidently hates her because she was his last attempt at fathering a male heir. After Cook spills the beans regarding her royal lineage, Zita ventures to have a clandestine sisterly relationship with the older girls, sneaking into their room at night and returning to the kitchen each morning. Something is clearly ailing her sisters, though, and Zita's friendships with a stable groom and a reclusive old woman in the woods give her the assistance and skills she needs to break through the destructive enchantment that's harming them. She earns the recognition and love of the king and-of course-the love of the stable groom, and they all live, just as you'd expect, happily ever after. In the hands of masters like Robin McKinley and Gail Carson Levine, fairy-tale expansions gain depth and nuance. Zahler's retelling doesn't fully humanize its characters. She adds complexity without much resonance, making her book entertaining, but not compelling.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Reworking the familiar ground of The Twelve Dancing Princesses into a story of resourcefulness and a loving heart, Zahler's debut deftly and thoughtfully embellishes the tale's classic elements. Banished to the life of a serving girl in the royal palace after her mother died in childbirth, Zita, at age seven, is shocked to learn she is the 13th daughter of harsh King Aricin. The sisters cherish Zita's stealthy visits to their bedroom via a hidden dumbwaiter, and despite the princesses' inability to secure husbands (they are rendered mute in the presence of suitors), all seems well until Zita turns 12 and her sisters sicken and take to their beds. As the princesses grow paler and more feeble, Zita's only clues are her sisters' mysteriously worn-out shoes. Suspecting evil magic, Zita enlists her friends-Breckin the stable boy, his soldier brother Milek, and Babette the forest witch-to help her. Zahler takes a light story and gives it gratifying depth, rounding out the characters and their motivations without betraying the source material and wrapping it all together in a graceful and cohesive romantic drama. Ages 8-12. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Twelve-year-old Zita narrates this take-off on the classic Grimm tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." After her mother dies in childbirth, red-headed Zita, the unlucky thirteenth princess, is banished to live with the servants. But when her flaxen-haired sisters mysteriously fall ill it takes all of Zita's perspicacity and gumption to save them. A well-rendered retelling. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
After Zita's mother died in childbirth, her father banished his thirteenth daughter to the servants. But working in the kitchen has its advantages: while her sisters remain captive in their moldering castle, red-haired Zita is free to roam the woods with the stable boy, Breckin. Zita tells her story chronologically, beginning with her childhood feelings of abandonment and her joyful reconnection with her older siblings. After her father threatens to fire the old nurse who cares for them, the princesses begin to waste away. Thanks to magic learned from a good witch living in the woods, Zita follows them to a dream palace where they must dance all night. With the help of Breckin and later, Breckin's handsome soldier brother she discovers the source of their enchantment. Readers do not need to be familiar with the Grimms' Twelve Dancing Princesses tale to follow the story, but those who are will enjoy the lively reworking of familiar elements. Though the author has published nonfiction for older readers, this is her first novel.--Isaacs, Kathleen Copyright 2010 Booklist