Dugina, O., & Dugin, A. (2000). The brave little tailor. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Kinder through Grade 3

One fine morning, the tailor was sewing at his table. Every now and then, he would take a bite of a juicy apple. The sweet smell of the fruit attracted flies. With a piece of cloth, the tailor swatted at the apple and killed seven flies at once. Proud of his feat, he makes himself a belt with the words “Seven at one blow.” The tailor convinces himself that such a fine belt entitles him to finer things, so he leaves his shop in search of adventure. He arrives at a kingdom, falls asleep in the courtyard, and is awaken by the king’s soldiers. The king is impressed by the tailor’s self-proclaimed feat and invites him to stay. Afraid of the tailor, the king’s knights resign. The king regrets his decision and decides to rid the kingdom from the tailor by giving him the most dangerous tasks in the kingdom—kill two giants, trap a wild unicorn, and capture a dangerous bor. Using his wit, the tailor completes all tasks and receives the king’s daughter’s hand and part of the kingdom. One night while dreaming, the tailor talks in his sleep and reveals his standing as a tailor. The princess, already unhappy with her lot, is now appalled to be married to a lowly tailor. She and her father plot to trap the tailor in his sleep in the presence of the royal tailor. Bound by professional courtesy, the royal tailor informs the tailor of the plot. The tailor outwits his opponents and lives happy ever after.

This revision of The brave little tailor focuses of the tailor’s challenges in the kingdom and how his intelligence helps him outwit his opponents. The text is the anchor to incredibly detailed illustrations six years in the making. Using watercolor and gouache, Olga and Andrej Dugin create a fantasy world to inspire readers to visualize their own stories. The plot is simple and easy to follow, and even though most characters are flat, the tailor’s ingenuity makes him dear to the audience. Readers are left with the message that intelligence will always outwit force. The king’s lack of honor and the princess’s pride toward the good-hearted tailor are punished with the tailor’s success. The illustrations offer readers a mixture of classic painting sprinkled with surreal details that are sure to please children and adults alike. ( )

After a tailor kills seven flies with a piece of cloth, he creates a leather belt with the words “Seven at one blow” engraved on it. People in the kingdom, however, misinterpret the meaning of the words and think the tailor killed seven people in one blow. Soon, he has the entire kingdom shaking with fear at the sight of him. The king intervenes and gives him three tasks: kill two giants, capture a unicorn unharmed, and capture a wild boar. If the tailor succeeds the king will give him his daughter’s hand in marriage, and half the kingdom.

Confidence in all you do seems to be the moral of this story. No matter which task the king bestowed upon him, the brave little tailor never faltered. He found himself rewarded and happy at the end of the story. This is a good story to read to a child because it has a positive message. Young audiences who are so often influenced by pop culture and the media might find comfort in an “old fashioned” believe-in-yourself-and-you-can-do-anything message. The pictures are really interesting. If you are a fan of big hats, and gigantic flies, and elephants that walk on the roof, then this book may be the one for you! ( )