cover image Tall, Wide, and Sharp-Eye: A Czech Folktale

Tall, Wide, and Sharp-Eye: A Czech Folktale

Mirko Gabler. Henry Holt & Company, $14.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-2784-6

Grubby, cheerful illustrations lend an oddball appeal to Gabler's ( Brakus Krakus ) retelling of a Czech folktale. All the traditional ingredients are here: the prince; the helpless princess; the evil sorcerer who has locked the princess in a castle; and the prince's helpers, in this case the wonder-working trio of Tall One (who stretches his legs to walk great distances), Wide One (who expands his girth) and Sharp-Eye (who wears a blindfold to inhibit his X-ray vision). The prince and his friends, assigned by the sorcerer to guard the princess for three nights in a row, accidentally fall asleep every night. Each time, the princess vanishes while they nap, but when morning comes, Tall, Wide and Sharp-Eye use their powers to retrieve her, thus breaking the wizard's hold on her. Some loose ends might distract young readers: What is the significance of the wizard's three iron hoops, which fall apart one by one as the prince's test progresses? What is the wizard's role in the princess's vanishing? Gabler's raffish humor goes a long way toward camouflaging these gaps; his glee percolates through his depictions of the villain's warty face or Wide One's oversized behind. The author's palette, muddy in his earlier work, has brightened considerably but retains its slapdash spirit. Ages 5-9. (Apr.)