The Brave Apprentice

"Seven at one blow!" That's what they say about the Brave Little Tailor -- he killed seven foes with one blow. But no one can prove it's even true. Besides, that took place a long time ago, and the Brave Little Tailor is now an old man. So what happens when an army of angry trolls invades his kingdom?Meet Patch Ridlin. He's a tailor's simple apprentice in the remote village of Crossfield. He's a hard worker who's never wanted for much, except maybe a little adventure. But when he rescues his friend Osbert from an aging and decrepit troll, Patch finds himself something of a town hero. Word of his bravery quickly spreads throughout the countryside, and Patch is summoned to the king's castle. King Milo needs his help to wage war on a gang of trolls threatening to destroy the kingdom. Soon Patch finds himself engaged in an all-out battle against the trolls. With only the help of a fool named Simon and a maddening riddle, can Patch figure out the troll's fatal flaw? Or is the kingdom destined to perish?From School Library JournalGrade 4-6–Just 50 years after the Brave Little Tailor killed his giant (but was it really seven at one blow?) the kingdom is in need of another hero. Loathsome giant trolls have begun venturing out of their usual habitat, the Barren Gray, and killing everything in their path. Then word comes that Patch, a young tailor's apprentice, has killed one of the trolls. Not long after that, a party of knights and nobles take him to the king's castle. In truth, Patch only confronted the troll to defend a beloved old friend and managed to topple him off a bridge into a river where he drowned, but the king still hopes that Patch will help find a solution to his problem. In the end, his kindness and cleverness help him find an answer when their brawn and breeding cannot, but only after several mistakes almost cost him his life and that of others. This brief novel has the themes and motifs of an expanded fairy tale with a brave young hero, a wise fool, a kind king and a brave and forthright queen, and some really horrific trolls with various oozing bodily fluids and gross habits. The plot and the language are sometimes predictable, but the characters are interestingly depicted. Fans of fairy-tale-styled novels like Donna Jo Napoli's Crazy Jack (Delacorte, 1999) and The Prince of the Pond (Puffin, 1994) will enjoy this story.–Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the AuthorP. W. (Paul William) Catanese was born in New York and grew up in Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and three children. When he's not writing books, he draws cartoons and works for an advertising agency. Interestingly, the letters in "P. W. Catanese" can be rearranged to spell "want escape?" Paul figures that's why people read books like his.