Excited at the thought of the upcoming holiday, Hasan the Shoemaker closes his shop early, and goes in search of presents for the women in his life. But although his wife, mother, and daughter are all thrilled at his gifts, none have time to tailor his new trousers, purchased to replace his patched old ones. Will Hasan be the only member of the family without fine clothes at the holiday? Or will something unexpected happen...?

Folktale fans know the answer to that, of course, but they will still enjoy Barbara K. Walker and Ahmet E. Uysal's retelling of this Turkish tale, in which the unexpected happens, not once, but three times! Collected by Uysal in a village in southern Turkey, New Patches for Old (originally Trousers Too Long and Too Short) reads well, and is accompanied by Harold Berson's appealing color illustrations. Definitely one that folklore fans will want to look at! ( )