Book 208

The Twelve Dancing Princesses, told by Marianna Mayer and illustrated by K.Y. Craft,  Morrow Junior Books, 1989.

This is another book that I would have bought solely for the artwork.  And this is another book that I keep in my bookcase and not in my son's. 

Marianna Mayer's retelling of the fairy tale of the twelve dancing princesses is beautifully, wonderfully and movingly executed.  Her version is strong enough to stand alone, without any illustrations.  That would be a pity, however, because the artwork is phenomenal.

K.Y. Craft paints with such brilliance that you can hear the silk dresses rustle and feel the kiss of every flower's petal.  And every single illustration is so breathtakingly beautiful and detailed that I, like the princesses, become lost within the tale.