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The Brave Little Seamstress
"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 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.
40 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Mary Pope Osborne
539 books2,677 followersMary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will Osborne.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 12, 2011
This book is based on a German tale called "The Brave Little Tailor," one of the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1800s. It is a fun tale of a little seamstress who accidentally stumbles into some adventures that take great strength and skill to complete. She successfully completes the tasks based on mere wit. This would be good to read to students for a unit on traditional tales.
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September 11, 2017it was good
January 18, 2019
The little seamstress was eating jam by her window. Flies came by and buzzed around the jam, so she grabbed a cloth and swung it at them. She killed 7 flies. Thinking this a great feat, the little seamstress embroidered "seven with one blow" on the back of her favorite coat and set out to show the world. Everyone she encounters thinks that she has managed to kill giants, knights, etc. Eventually she acquires a kingdom, but not before she has to face many more creatures. The Brave Little Seamstress handles with aplomb whatever she is dealt.
September 2, 2018
I really liked the story, but I did not love the illustrations--just not my preferred style.
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March 1, 2016Title: The Brave Little Seamstress
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrator: Giselle Potter
Genre: Non-European Folktale
Theme(s): Bravery
Opening line/sentence: One summer day, a little seamstress sat by her window, eating bread and jam.
Brief Book Summary: A little seamstress begins the book by defeating seven flies in “one blow” and ends the book by marrying a knight and becoming Queen of the land. The little seamstress displays bravery and strength throughout the book, never backing down from a challenge. This book just goes to show, if you believe in yourself and don’t back down, you conquer almost anything.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, May 2002 (Vol. 55, No. 9))
This retelling of the Grimm Brothers tale of the brave little tailor ( Seven at One Blow ) recasts the protagonist as a brave little seamstress. The gender change does little to alter the comic effect of this essentially tall and tricky tale: the seamstress, beset by flies, strikes out with her napkin and kills seven at one blow. Her subsequent embroidered boast causes her no end of opportunities to trick silly giants and foolish kings and ultimately to wind up with the castle and the gentle knight. Osborne s devotion to narrative momentum is admirable; this story starts with a bang and gallops through to the happily-ever-after conclusion, employing a lively turn of phrase along the way. Potter s mixed-media (pencil, ink, gouache, gesso, watercolor) illustrations have a slightly more grounded feeling than her airy artwork in Mr. Semolina-Semolinus (BCCB 7/97) and elsewhere due to the denser, deeper-hued palette; the skewed perspectives that characterized her earlier work serve her very effectively here. Patchwork quilt endpapers set up the sewing motif that is repeated in the frames of stitches surrounding the text blocks. This slightly tongue-in-cheek, tellable tale will serve as a jolly counterpoint to other folkloric heroic journeys.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:Julie Cummins (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 15))
The dynamic duo that created Kate and the Beanstalk (2000) has concocted another fairy-tale winner with this feminist retelling of "The Brave Little Tailor." The whimsically perky, generous text is perfectly matched to the illustrations, in Potter's signature ink-gouache-gesso-watercolors, which affix just the right amount of sauciness to the cheeky heroine who outwits three giants, a unicorn, a wild boar, and the king (and his 100 knights). Of course, the girl marries the knight who warned her of the king's wicked plan to ship her out to sea, then takes over the throne and rules the land. An author's note on the frontispiece accounts for the "reworking" of the German tale and justifies turning the tailor into a seamstress. Clever touches of humor--the seamstress' corkscrew curls; text pages framed by stitching; and "Seven with One Blow" sewn on the seamstress' pink coat--add to the fun.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The second reviewer, Julie, was more outspoken about how she felt about the main character being a girl. She clearly thought very highly of this feminist approach and thought that the heroine character was a great twist to the original tale. The first reviewer comments that the “gender change does little to alter the comic effect of this essentially tall and tricky tale”. I do not know the original tale, but I could imagine that having a woman taking over a king’s castle would make the book even more humorous.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: I adore the illustrations in the book. The characters are very charming and the color scheme/use of water color are very appealing to the eyes. This is not the first time I have seen Mary Pope Osborne replace the original main character, a guy, with a witty, intelligent heroine. Personally, I love how she takes this feminist approach, all girls need role models like these characters.
Consideration of Instructional Application: A fun activity I thought of that you could use with this book, is sharing sentences that can have multiple meanings with your classroom, and have each child write down what they think the sentence means when they read it. For example, the little seamstress’ shirt said “Seven with one blow!” meaning she killed seven flies, but the giant and the king thought it meant she killed seven giants.
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrator: Giselle Potter
Genre: Non-European Folktale
Theme(s): Bravery
Opening line/sentence: One summer day, a little seamstress sat by her window, eating bread and jam.
Brief Book Summary: A little seamstress begins the book by defeating seven flies in “one blow” and ends the book by marrying a knight and becoming Queen of the land. The little seamstress displays bravery and strength throughout the book, never backing down from a challenge. This book just goes to show, if you believe in yourself and don’t back down, you conquer almost anything.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, May 2002 (Vol. 55, No. 9))
This retelling of the Grimm Brothers tale of the brave little tailor ( Seven at One Blow ) recasts the protagonist as a brave little seamstress. The gender change does little to alter the comic effect of this essentially tall and tricky tale: the seamstress, beset by flies, strikes out with her napkin and kills seven at one blow. Her subsequent embroidered boast causes her no end of opportunities to trick silly giants and foolish kings and ultimately to wind up with the castle and the gentle knight. Osborne s devotion to narrative momentum is admirable; this story starts with a bang and gallops through to the happily-ever-after conclusion, employing a lively turn of phrase along the way. Potter s mixed-media (pencil, ink, gouache, gesso, watercolor) illustrations have a slightly more grounded feeling than her airy artwork in Mr. Semolina-Semolinus (BCCB 7/97) and elsewhere due to the denser, deeper-hued palette; the skewed perspectives that characterized her earlier work serve her very effectively here. Patchwork quilt endpapers set up the sewing motif that is repeated in the frames of stitches surrounding the text blocks. This slightly tongue-in-cheek, tellable tale will serve as a jolly counterpoint to other folkloric heroic journeys.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:Julie Cummins (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 15))
The dynamic duo that created Kate and the Beanstalk (2000) has concocted another fairy-tale winner with this feminist retelling of "The Brave Little Tailor." The whimsically perky, generous text is perfectly matched to the illustrations, in Potter's signature ink-gouache-gesso-watercolors, which affix just the right amount of sauciness to the cheeky heroine who outwits three giants, a unicorn, a wild boar, and the king (and his 100 knights). Of course, the girl marries the knight who warned her of the king's wicked plan to ship her out to sea, then takes over the throne and rules the land. An author's note on the frontispiece accounts for the "reworking" of the German tale and justifies turning the tailor into a seamstress. Clever touches of humor--the seamstress' corkscrew curls; text pages framed by stitching; and "Seven with One Blow" sewn on the seamstress' pink coat--add to the fun.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The second reviewer, Julie, was more outspoken about how she felt about the main character being a girl. She clearly thought very highly of this feminist approach and thought that the heroine character was a great twist to the original tale. The first reviewer comments that the “gender change does little to alter the comic effect of this essentially tall and tricky tale”. I do not know the original tale, but I could imagine that having a woman taking over a king’s castle would make the book even more humorous.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: I adore the illustrations in the book. The characters are very charming and the color scheme/use of water color are very appealing to the eyes. This is not the first time I have seen Mary Pope Osborne replace the original main character, a guy, with a witty, intelligent heroine. Personally, I love how she takes this feminist approach, all girls need role models like these characters.
Consideration of Instructional Application: A fun activity I thought of that you could use with this book, is sharing sentences that can have multiple meanings with your classroom, and have each child write down what they think the sentence means when they read it. For example, the little seamstress’ shirt said “Seven with one blow!” meaning she killed seven flies, but the giant and the king thought it meant she killed seven giants.
February 18, 2015
Personal Reaction:
I really liked this book!! It showed a lot of woman power that many "fairy tales" and children's books leaves out. I liked how no matter what obstacle was placed before the seamstress, she was able to conquer it just because of how different people interpreted "seven with one blow!" It shows that one can really overcome anything even from the smallest victories. She never shied away and defeated bad giants, unicorns, and boars to help others only to be attacked once they found out she was only a seamstress. She took this as an opportunity to prove how courageous she really was and to prove all of the knights wrong, when they were hiding outside of her room to ship her off. This would be a great read for lower elementary classrooms.
Purposes:
-Grades 1 and 2
-Read aloud enrichment for life lessons: showing the students that they can overcome any obstacle that is presented to them just like the seamstress was presented with. You can ask the students if they have ever overcome any obstacles that they could relate to the seamstress.
Curriculum read aloud:
-Independent reading for 3rd graders
-Can read to a classroom that may need to have reinforcement saying that they can do anything if they put their mind to it. This book has the potential to teach them a valuable lesson at a very young age.
-The seamstress was a round character showing her genuine side and how she cares and wants to help others in need, like the King, even though he took advantage of her she was able to overcome that and find something/someone really good out of it.
I really liked this book!! It showed a lot of woman power that many "fairy tales" and children's books leaves out. I liked how no matter what obstacle was placed before the seamstress, she was able to conquer it just because of how different people interpreted "seven with one blow!" It shows that one can really overcome anything even from the smallest victories. She never shied away and defeated bad giants, unicorns, and boars to help others only to be attacked once they found out she was only a seamstress. She took this as an opportunity to prove how courageous she really was and to prove all of the knights wrong, when they were hiding outside of her room to ship her off. This would be a great read for lower elementary classrooms.
Purposes:
-Grades 1 and 2
-Read aloud enrichment for life lessons: showing the students that they can overcome any obstacle that is presented to them just like the seamstress was presented with. You can ask the students if they have ever overcome any obstacles that they could relate to the seamstress.
Curriculum read aloud:
-Independent reading for 3rd graders
-Can read to a classroom that may need to have reinforcement saying that they can do anything if they put their mind to it. This book has the potential to teach them a valuable lesson at a very young age.
-The seamstress was a round character showing her genuine side and how she cares and wants to help others in need, like the King, even though he took advantage of her she was able to overcome that and find something/someone really good out of it.
February 25, 2015
The Brave Little Seamstress is an appropriate book for 1st or 2nd grade students. I believe that the language is rich, words such as, scoundrels and seamstress, make for a couple of teaching points during the book. Also, this book displays themes about bravery and overcoming obstacles. I would use this book to embed confidence in their minds. I think it is important for children to start learning their self worth at this particular age because they are starting to compare and contrast themselves to their peers. I think The Brave Little Seamstress gives an important meaning to young girls, considering the main character is a girl and she overcomes a difficult task. This will hopefully eliminate the stereotypes that society has placed on girls/women.
February 26, 2015
Personal Reaction: This was an interesting book that I enjoyed reading. There was humor as well as lessons to teach kids. My favorite part was when the little seamstress fooled the giant that she was just as strong as him.
Purposes: Read aloud for enrichment to students 3rd through 5th grade.
Rich language: This story has lots of good vocabulary words, which offers opportunities to ask the students if they know what .... means?
-There is also many personification examples in the story such as "heart wagged with joy"
-The seamstress is seen as very clever and brave, which are good qualities to discuss with students.
Purposes: Read aloud for enrichment to students 3rd through 5th grade.
Rich language: This story has lots of good vocabulary words, which offers opportunities to ask the students if they know what .... means?
-There is also many personification examples in the story such as "heart wagged with joy"
-The seamstress is seen as very clever and brave, which are good qualities to discuss with students.
October 27, 2016
Osborne flips the gender of the tailor, making the main character a seamstress who has nearly all of the adventures of the original (the sequence of killing the giants in the cave is removed, and rather than marrying a princess, she earns half the kingdom and marries the knight who tells her about the planned assassination). It's still plenty of fun, the vocabulary isn't overly challenging, and turn about is fair play here (particularly with the note at the beginning, which mentions the Grimms got the story from a pair of sisters and Lang's version was translated by women as well).
August 30, 2012
This book is a good story about bravery and wit. It shows children that thinking on your toes can come in handy at times. The seamstress does three kind deeds for the king and king still wants to harm the seamstress. The book shows that the good normally wins out. The illustrations were very good as well.
September 29, 2014
With quick thinking and actions that surprised a giant, a knight, and a king, The Brave Little Seamstress was able to do the dangerous and wondrous feats to gain half a kingdom that was promised to her. Relying on out-of-the-box solutions and a little help from her friends, this wise girl used her imagination to conquer the world (or a kingdom).
July 10, 2013
The illustrations are nice. The Little Seamstress cleverly tricks others including a king that she is braver and stronger than she SEAMS. ;) She ends up living happily ever after with one of the king's brave knights.
January 31, 2009
A re-telling of the Brave Little Tailor with a girl as the hero. One of Katherine's books. I love the line "Why should I be afraid of 50 little men..."
December 22, 2010
This is probably an excellent story and certainly one that would make wonderful reader's theatre. I was a little disturbed at its blanket rejection of outsiders.
October 19, 2011
Did not care for the book. I did not find a good moral behind it and therefore would not share this with my class.
May 4, 2012
The story is cute the pictures are nice, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2014
"It is just like the story of the brave little tailor" said my 6.5 year old child.
July 14, 2015
Cute change for MPO.
September 12, 2016
My kids and I liked this. I found it a tiny bit wordy. The illustrations were fun.
February 9, 2014
Politically correct but it works!
August 15, 2015
Nice version of the brave little tailor. My 6 year old especially loved it.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews