Brothers of the Knight [Hardcover]

Debbie Allen (Author), Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up

This modern fable by actress-producer Debbie Allen is a hip retelling of the classic tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Reverend Knight is at his wits' end. Why are his twelve sons' shoes worn to thread each morning when the boys claim to have been asleep all night? Then Sunday, the new housekeeper, arrives. Her voice is like a songbird's and her biscuits are "slap yo'self good." With the gift of magic, she discovers the boys' nightly trips to a swinging dance hall. They fear their father's disapproval, but Sunday knows they must be honest with him. Can she work her sweet magic on the Knight family--and is there a place in it for her?

The multitalented Ms. Allen now proves herself to be a storyteller extraordinaire. Rising young artist Kadir Nelson's brilliant artwork bursts with color, richness, and energy, making this the perfect gift for funky, toe-tapping fun.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Twelve Dancing Princesses have nothin' on the 12 sons of Reverend Knight, a Harlem preacher. Narrating the tale in a chatty if somewhat rambling voice, the family dog, Happy, explains that this man "raised his sons with a firm, loving hand... but a lot was goin' on that couldn't be explained." Actress, choreographer and producer Allen gives a familiar tale a hip spin as the brothers dance each night from one roof to the next to reach the Big Band Ballroom. There they swing till dawn, returning home with shoes "worn to threads, messed up, torn up, stinky, dirty, tacky, jacked up." Sunday, a sharp, attractive housekeeper with magical powers, discovers the siblings' secret, but she keeps mum, waiting instead until the kids themselves are ready to 'fess up to their dad. They don't and she quits, but all ends happily. Successfully capturing the energy of the swirling, twirling nighttime revelers, first-time children's book artist Nelson's sepia-toned illustrations possess the precision of line accorded to pen-and-inks, filled out with a full palette of oil paints. He's equally adept with the interiors of the church as with rooftop scenes of the boys whooping it up under starlit skies. A funky, fresh adaptation. Ages 5-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-A spin-off of the Grimm tale, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," this is the story of Preacher Knight and his attempts to solve the mystery of the worn-out sneakers he finds in his sons' room each morning. Believing that their father would not approve of their clandestine dancing at the Big Band Ballroom, the 12 boys refuse to confide in him. Only when the ingenious housekeeper, Sunday, attempts to reveal the brothers' secret is Reverend Knight's own predilection for dancing disclosed and the family-along with the bewitching Sunday-reconciled. The setting for Allen's fresh imagining is "a little village called Harlem." Her hip text is given spark and personality through the use of contemporary dialect: Sunday's cookies " were jump up and down, slap yo' own self in the face good!" The humor of the story is heightened by the artwork. Nelson's pencil drawings were photocopied and then painted in oils, producing a fine line, minutely detailed characters and settings, and expressively lit coloration. The strutting, high-stepping brothers are full of individuality, attitude, and movement. Text is boxed with old frayed sneakers and laces. Few elements of the Grimm tale remain, except the worn shoes, the illicit dancing, the outsider who solves the mystery, and the cloak of invisibility. However, new elements, such as the gender change and the brothers' motivation for secrecy, fit neatly. The choice of the family dog as narrator is the only false note. His expository remarks, though humorous, sometimes interrupt the flow. Still, don't let this small flaw keep this original title off your dance card.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803724888
• ISBN-13: 978-0803724884
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reflection, September 14, 2000

By 

"afropower" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brothers of the Knight (Hardcover)

I truly enjoyed this reading experience. It is cute and catchy and the illustrations are wonderful. On a deeper level I feel that this story speaks to parent-child communication. As adults, often times we may forget that our children are reflections of us. They come from us. They are the essence of our beings. Sometimes the very thing we try to suppress is the exact thing that our children are drawn to most. Why? Because they come from us. Part of us lives in them. Open, honest communication is the best way to plant seeds in our children's lives. Like a mirror looking back at you, our children will be what they see in us.

Peace

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, June 3, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brothers of the Knight (Hardcover)

Reverend Knight, a straight-laced and dignified preacher and father of twelve wonderful sons, has a problem. Each morning his sons' shoes are utterly worn out, and no one can figure out how it happens. One day a miracle comes to the Reverend's home in the shape of a new nanny, sweet Sunday. Using a magic scarf, Sunday follows the young men across the rooftops of Harlem to the Big Band Ballroom, where they proceed to dance the night away--and their shoes to pieces. Now that she knows their secret, it is time to teach the young Knights a lesson, and maybe even their father as well.

My son selected this book, and I couldn't be happier. The story is a wonderful updating of the classic tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, which is both magical and yet very real. The illustrations, by Kadir Nelson, are wonderful, adding some real power and animation to the story. I love this book, and recommend it to you with all my heart.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dancin' the Knight away..., December 8, 1999

By 

Chess Heart "paxbear" (Canton, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Brothers of the Knight (Hardcover)

Rev. Knight is a fine, upstanding Harlem preacher with 12 sons and one dog. It's actually the dog who is telling the story. Quips he-- "That's right, I'm a talking dog. It's a magical story. (You didn't say anything when that pig was talking in that movie... quiet!)"

Rev. Knight, in addition to having 12 sons (and presumably a very full house and schedule) also has a problem: every night his sons go to sleep but wake up to find their shoes completely worn out. After a rotating slew of housekeepers fails to solve the mystery, radiant housekeeper Sunday moves in. As it turns out, the boys are sneaking out via a secret door in their very loooong bed with the aid of a pointy-eared fellow called the Cookie Man.

Once out of bed-- and out of the locked bedroom-- they proceed on to Big Band Ballroom where everyone dances the night away... Including Sunday, who has donned her special cloak of invisibility.

The story is both a retelling of "The 12 Dancing Princesses" and based on live performances at Kennedy center. However, it left ME (admittedly an adult who may be inclined to ask more probing questions than a younger audience) a bit curious. Secret door in the bed? The Cookie Man? Invisible cloak? Twelve sons and no mother? Dancing at the Big Band Ballroom all night? The story flows, but leaves me feeling like the author is telling the story to an audience who already knows more history of these folk than I do.

The brothers, for example, have wonderful names like Snacky, Lazy Leo and Big Fat Raoul "(likes to act a fool)", and obviously run the gamut in age from 7-17, but we don't know anything about them other than they like to dance (and I'm still curious as to how Rev. Knight GOT 12 sons-- adoption? Biological? Foster care? Homeless youth? What? ). Similarly, Sunday, who arrives with her Mary Poppins-like suitcase that holds a scarf of invisibility is not really well fleshed out, either. As for the Cookie Man, well...

The illustrations are simply amazing-- very lively and eye catching, reason enough to get the book. The language is contemporary and easily paced--the dog tells us that Tiny Tappin' Theo's dance partner ain't nearly as phat as that Irish setter down the street! It's a lively story with a surprise ending, but I'd still like to know, in more detail, who the main players are.