Wildly terpsichorean collages, constructed from patterned cloth and paper cutouts decorated with bright paint and shoe-sole prints, illustrate this original tale of a clever itinerant cobbler and a nearsighted giant. Sporting long, serpentine limbs that flail across the pages, Hans Crispin waltzes into town offering shoes that reinvigorate the weary, give their wearers height and style, make work easier—and threaten to put the local cobbler out of business. So the cobbler challenges Hans to shoe Barefootus, an irascible giant more likely to eat visitors than welcome them. Correctly diagnosing the giant’s complaint that he can’t find his garden or livestock, Hans craftily whips up footwear with big magnifying glasses, and instantly makes a huge, new, purple friend. Light (Puss in Boots, 2002) writes in formal folklorish—“Once upon a time there was a man named Hans Crispin who traveled throughout the land,” etc.—that stands in sharp, but all in all pleasing, contrast to the art’s extravagant forms and colors. High marks for energy. (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-8)
