Brothers of the Knight

Debbie Allen, a well-known film producer, actress and choreographer, transforms The Twelve Dancing Princesses - the beloved German fairytale from the Brothers Grimm - into a tale of African-American family life in Brothers of the Knight.

Reverend Knight, a reserved pastor living with his twelve son in Harlem, is determined to find out why their shoes are worn to bits every morning, but it is only after the arrival of his new housekeeper, Sunday, that the mystery begins to unravel. The Twelve Dancing Princesses is currently one of my favorite fairy-tales, so I was delighted to discover this contemporary adaptation, which emphasizes the need for open communication between parents and children. Kadir Nelson's exuberant illustrations are a show more good match for the energy of Allen's characters. show less

Brothers of the Knight was such a fun and enjoyable read! If I'm going to be honest, I had to do a little research on the original story that this little book was based off of. I found that it is based on the fairytale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and this author's retelling was very similar to the original story! For example, this story was centered around a Reverend who had twelve sons, and lived in Harlem. The twelve sons would escape every night to dance at a hip spot, and the Reverend could not figure out why their shoes were destroyed each evening. This is similar in the original Brothers Grimm tale. The only difference in this story and the original was who was narrating the story--the family dog, who gave the story a joyful show more and playful feel. The entire story was also written in slang, to stay true to the Harlem culture. I loved this story, even though I have never read the original, and would love to read it to students one day! show less

I absolutely loved this book. Not even sure why except I think the story line is so very different than many I've read. It's this crazy story about kids who dance the night away. It's entertaining and fun. The characters are believable and the whole thing is just really funny.

Reverend Knight can’t figure out why every morning his twelve son’s sneakers are torn up. He does not know that every night when he goes to bed his sons seek out and dance all night long. The mystery isn’t solved until the new nanny, Sunday, shows up.

This is a great read aloud book. The talking dog, Happy, tells the story. I believe that this helps hold a lot of the children’s attention as you are reading.

In the classroom I would like to play some music and have our own little ballroom dance. I would also like for the students to rewrite a ending for the story.

This was a twist to Brothers Grimm "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." These brother keep getting rid of all their nannies, because everything night magically all their shoes are worn out. Until one nanny comes and find out their secret.

It is about a man named Reverend Knight who has twelve sons and he can't figure out how they are wearing out his shoes. So he hires a lady named Ms. Sunday who has an invisibility cloak. She uses to se that the boys are sneaking out at night and going dancing.

seemed sort of stereotypical