The Brave Little Tailor

Warhola and Thomson ( The Tinderbox ) collaborate again--this time on the familiar story of the feisty tailor who kills seven flies at one blow and ends up marrying the princess. Thomson's detailed and fluent prose is well supported by Warhola's lively--if somewhat ordinary--full-color and brown-toned paintings. The text does not whitewash the original story, though Warhola is selective about what he chooses to portray, wisely omitting, for example, the tailor's beheading of a unicorn. In the artist's fairy-tale world sparrows look like bluebirds, giants are appropriately hairy and loathsome and the spunky tailor resembles a diminutive Ichabod Crane. The pictures rely on slapstick poses and exaggerated expressions for effect. Although this retelling breaks no new ground, it adequately captures the tale's intent. Ages 4-8. (May)