The Princesses Have a Ball [Hardcover]

Teresa Bateman (Author), Lynne Cravath (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Once upon a time, not so long ago,
There were twelve tall princesses all in a row.
Every night they wore out their shoes.
But where did they go? What did they do?
These girls held no ordinary royal court--
They were playing their favorite sport!

The king wonders what his daughters are up to at night--why aren't they dreaming of princes? But with the help of a clever cobbler, the perfect shoes, and a very special ball, the princesses soon make their own dreams come true!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bateman (Farm Flu) gives this retelling of the 12 dancing princesses a shot of girl-power, despite a rather relentless rhyme scheme. The dozen royal daughters wear out their shoes every night not because they ve been ballroom dancing, but because they ve been playing basketball. In Cravath s (He Saves the Day) ink-and-wash spreads, the king appears as a pudgy suburbanite in a polo shirt and an ermine cape. He protests that the girls should be dreaming of a prince/ and your wedding day. The multicultural sisters all dressed in lovely princess gowns, some in glasses, some with curly hair and some with dreadlocks foil their father s spies. Jack the cobbler, though, gets to the bottom of it: he finds the females in the basement. They made up two teams,/ with two substitutes,/ And they ran and passed/ and they shouted, SHOOT! To the girls delight, Jack designs high-tops for them. When their father discovers their new talent, he concedes, Even royalty is allowed some fun,/ and I m proud of you,/ each and every one. Cravath s drawings feature shots from odd angles and cute visuals for the grown-ups (a 12-unit canopy bed, a banner towed by an airplane over the kingdom offering a Big Reward for solving the mystery). The 12 unnamed princesses tend to blur into a single character, despite Cravath s attempts to differentiate them in the artwork, and the driving beat tends to overwhelm the narrative. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-In an athletic twist on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," these nocturnal royal sisters are dancing around a basketball court (divided into two teams and two substitutes). It takes the clever cobbler to solve the mystery of their worn-out shoes and to come up with better footwear for these WNBA wanna-bes. "He designed a shoe/with a rubber sole,/and a high-topped edge/to stop ankle roll./He put arch supports/in the proper places,/and ditched pink ribbons/for sturdy laces." Finally, at a fancy dress ball, the princesses reveal their dribbling talents, which not only delight the king, but also inspire him to be their new referee. Bateman's verse uses wordplay and offers a fresh look at the beloved story. Cravath's cartoon pictures have just the right look, adding amusing anachronistic features such as an airplane advertising a big reward while men in tights and women in ball gowns frolic below. Pair this inventive story with any of the more traditional versions for a fun look at classic tales and their retreads.
Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807566268
• ISBN-13: 978-0807566268
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 11 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great message, July 5, 2007

By 

A. Jason Crawford "JC" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Princesses Have a Ball (Paperback)

As a father of a 3-year old girl and another on the way, I'm concerned that our culture "tells" young girls that their worth is dependent on what other people think about how sexually attractive you are. But sports seems to be one way that women can feel good about their bodies without having to worry about what others think about how they look.

At any rate, this book has become one of my favs because it helps my daughter learn about the "true" meaning of the term "Princess" apart from the Disney meaning of the word. That is, she can define herself according to her standards rather than someone else's.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Girl Power!, May 16, 2006

By 

J. M. Ethridge (Eastpointe, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Princesses Have a Ball (Hardcover)

I love fairy tales, and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" has always been one of my favorites. I read this book to my daughter and we both loved it. It's a twist on the traditional fairy tale; the princesses sneak away to play basketball, rather than to meet up with hunky princes. It's a major shot of girl power! They don't need to wait around for men to amuse them: they amuse themselves! Go, girls!

My daughter, however, was confused about the multicultural princesses. I explained about families being about love, not color of skin, and she seemed satisfied with that. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that the princesses were all drawn with their own "personalities" (if that can be shown in a picture) and weren't the cookie-cutter princess stereotype of blonde hair, blue eyes, size two...

The rhyme scheme has a few rhythmical flaws, but flows pretty well. The third time (!!) reading it, I did it as a rap, which my daughter really enjoyed.

All in all, a delightful read and a nice way to show girls that they can make their own destinies and enjoy whatever they want to enjoy.

4.0 out of 5 stars Girls can play ball too!, January 6, 2011

By 

8692959603 "MomTeachLearn" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Princesses Have a Ball (Paperback)

This year my 7 year old discovered she now enjoys basketball and spends time working on her dribbling and shooting skills. So this book was GREAT to show that girls can enjoy the sport of basketball. It is also a great "modernization of the traditional Dancing Princesses story. Every year on my child's birthday, I write her a letter to summarize her year. I tucked this year's letter into this book and put it in her box. She will get 21 books and 21 letters when she turns 21, and this book will help her remember the year she got in the game and worked on her basketball skills.