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Brave Little Seamstress

Name: Brave Little Seamstress
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
ISBN: 9780689844867

by Mary Pope Osborne, Giselle Potter (Illustrator), Brothers Grimm

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Overview

"Goodness!" the little seamstress said. "I've killed seven flies with one blow." And to mark the event, she took out her favorite coat and stitched on the back:

SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW!

Proud of her amazing feat, the brave little seamstress sets off to tell the world. It's not her fault if, along the way, a giant sees her coat and thinks she slayed seven giants, now is it?

Based on the classic fairy tale "The Brave Little Tailor," Mary Pope Osborne's spirited retelling — this time starring a gutsy seamstress — and Giselle Potter's charming illustrations take you to a magical world where a little heroine meets even the biggest challenges with wit and imagination.

A seamstress who kills seven flies with one blow outwits the king and, with the help of a kind knight, becomes a wise and kind queen.

Synopsis

"Goodness!" the little seamstress said. "I've killed seven flies with one blow." And to mark the event, she took out her favorite coat and stitched on the back:

SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW!

Proud of her amazing feat, the brave little seamstress sets off to tell the world. It's not her fault if, along the way, a giant sees her coat and thinks she slayed seven giants, now is it?

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review of this feminist reworking of The Brave Little Tailor, PW said, "This briskly imaginative romp will sew up fans' allegiance and gear them up for this pair's next Grimm makeover." Ages 4-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne has channeled a lifelong love of exploration and travel into one of the most popular children s book series of the past two decades. With her fantastic Magic Tree House series, Mary Pope Osborne keeps the good times rolling for kids all over the world.

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Editorials

From the Publisher

"Clever."

-- Publishers Weekly, starred review

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-The popular story of "The Brave Little Tailor" receives its just revision as a feminist adventure. All of the familiar elements are present-the jam and the flies, the giants, the unicorn, and the wild boar-but the finale is a delightful twist. The brave little seamstress marries the knight who has told her of the king's plan to be rid of her, and becomes a legendary "kind and wise" and "strong and brave" queen. Osborne, who previously collaborated with Potter on Kate and the Beanstalk (Atheneum, 2000), has crafted another lively tale suited to reading aloud or telling. In a note, the author relates that the Brothers Grimm collected the story from female relatives and that Andrew Lang, whose version she has adapted, relied on his female relatives for retellings and translations. Potter's stylized art, rendered in pencil, ink, gouache, and watercolor, is replete with humorous details. The diminutive but clever seamstress perched on the knee of the huge and slightly befuddled giant sets the tone for this playful version. The palette of greens, browns, and oranges for the giants and the landscapes, and royal purple for the king is appealing. The use of a running stitch design for the title and some page borders adds to the visual treat. A beautifully designed book that children will enjoy and adults will want to share again and again.-Susan Pine, New York Public Library Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Switching genders in another traditional tale, the author and illustrator of Kate and the Beanstalk (2000) pit a clever, doughty seamstress against a swarm of flies ("Seven At One Blow"), three giants, a unicorn, a wild boar, and, most dangerous of all, a fearful king with a hundred knights. Whether facing wild beasts, or surrounded by large (sometimes very large) pale, purse-lipped men, the seamstress visibly exudes self-confidence, and though Potter places her in a medieval setting-and the way the heroine addresses her adversaries (" ‘Hey! Unicorn! . . . Over here!' ")-gives this rendition a contemporary flavor. In the end, the seamstress sends the king and 99 of his knights packing; the 100th, who admires her spirit, sticks around to become king and inherit the kingdom with her. As the story is about courage and cleverness overcoming brawn, it's actually improved by a protagonist even smaller and weaker than the tailor in the original-even more so, as Osborne points out in the source note, since its best-known versions, from the Brothers Grimm and Andrew Lang, were probably collected from female storytellers. (Picture book/folktale. 7-9)