THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR

One of the Grimms' more eccentric tales receives the outlandish attention of Goloshapov (The Six Servants, 1996, etc.), whose ominous illustrations give the story its due. The tailor of the title starts to entertain visions of his heroism after he swats seven flies dead in a single swipe. So smitten by this act is he that he sews a belt to commemorate the event, stitched with the words ``Seven at a blow!'' The tailor sets out to seek his fortune, conquering one brutish character after another—giant louts, vicious animals, conniving royalty—through cleverness and luck. When he is made king, it seems only natural. The tailor's goofy countenance belies his instinct for survival; the giants are massive dimwits with lantern jaws—ideal as foes. The rest of the artwork is equally full of character: a unicorn with a devilish horn, a bewhiskered boar. The atmosphere is perfect, but Goloshapov finds so many sinister landscapes and backdrops for the tailor's successes that the type—running across veins of blood-red or along dark, scumbled textures—is occasionally difficult to read, making the text more of an afterthought than an essential component of the page. (Picture book/folklore. 5-8)