This is the first book by Catanese that I have read. It makes me eager to read the author’s other titles, and to recommend the same to you. The Brave Apprentice is sort of a sequel to the fairy tale of the Brave Little Tailor, also known as Jack the Giant Killer. Set in a fairy tale kingdom, its hero is a nimble, earnest young tailor’s apprentice named Patch.

One day Patch stands up for a helpless old man against a charging troll, and – perhaps by luck more than anything else – manages to kill it. Soon, the king’s knights have whisked Patch away to the royal castle of Dartham. It seems good King Milo depends on the tailor lad’s cleverness, as much as the strength of his men at arms, to save the kingdom from an invasion of trolls. But discovering the secret of why the trolls are invading, and how to stop them, proves difficult. A vile traitor is working with the enemy to take over the kingdom...several of Patch’s seemingly good ideas end in tragic failure...and soon, the castle is surrounded by the largest and best-organized army of trolls in history. The hope of all may lie in a young queen’s pluck, an apprentice’s wits, and a fool named Simon Oddfellow.

Here is an exciting yarn, woven out of threads of suspense, sorrow, comedy, and action, and stitched together by an unquestionable master of the trade. Want escape? Don’t let P. W. Catanese slip by you!

Robbie Fischer
USA

Recommended Age: 12+

If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.

08/10/2005