Customer Reviews

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a re-telling of a Russian fairy tale illustrated by KY Craft [far and away the best illustrator I've ever encountered]. This is a Cinderella type tale turned graphically gruesome.

We bought this book for our daughter's 5th birthday. She has several other KY Craft books and adores them all. However when I recieved this one from amazon and opened it up my husband and I both worried that it was not appropriate for our children. [They have enough nightmares as it is!]

While the illustrations are beautifully detailed and absolutely amazing [as always with KY Craft], the story is about a horrible witch, Baba Yaga, who eats people and lives in a house made of bones [graphically illustrated in great detail]. She has a hideous frightening appearance [also rendered in great detail] and the entire book is extremely dark and frightening. This is definitely the stuff of nightmares and horror movies.

So, it was with much trepidation that I read the book to my 5 year old and 2 year old... I expected them to be very frightened. To the contrary, they found Baba Yaga *fascinating* and LOVED the story... they want me to read it again and again.

As an adult I appreciated the level of detail and the amazing art work, but I was amazed that my young children could read this book and not be terrified. They truly adore it though... who would have guessed?!!

basic plot outline (so if you'd wish to remain oblivious please skip over the first paragraph)-

this is the story about a girl who is sent by her step mother to the evil witch in the woods to borrow a light. it starts off like the cinderella story with the father remarrying a woman with two daughters and then dying, leaving his daughter to be mistreated by the stepmother and stepsisters. the stepmother is jealous of the girl's beauty and sweet disposition in comparison with her own daughters so she sends the girl out into the woods to seek out the evil baba yaga to ask for a light. the thing about the witch is that very few people who meet her live to tell about it. the witch eats people and has a house built out of their bones. so the girl goes obediently to the witch and she takes with her a doll her mother made her before she died, and the doll is magical, because it was made with her mother's love. so when she gets to the witch and asks for a light the witch agrees to give her a light if she can complete the tasks set before her, which are to cook huge meals and clean everything. the baba yaga leaves and the girl frets over what to do and then her doll comes alive and does most of the chores for her. the witch is satisfied and gives the girl one of her lights which when she presents to her stepmother, burns the stepmother alive. at this point, though she wasn't the strongest heroine ever, i'm hopeful for a strong ending, thinking maybe she won't need to get married at the end of the book to justify the plot... but she does, and it's not a bad thing, i'm just getting a bit bored with the same ending over and over (in both adult and children's stories).

this story had more of a classical fairy tale feel to it. it had a dark atmosphere to it with the beautiful illustrations, which at some points i could see very small children being afraid, of the baba yaga for example, but for the most part i felt they kept the story pretty clean. it could have definitely been very much more graphic, which i would have loved, but this is a children's book. what i enjoyed about this book was that things had to be a certain way, things HAD to get done, like in older stories. even though the stepmother treats her very poorly, the girl still obeys her and minds her, and from a feminist perspective this can be seen in a very bad light. a submissive girl with no back bone and no will of her own, an abusive relationship in essence. but, if you look at it as something produced a time long ago, when morals were different, and from a fairy tale perspective, where (if you know your mythology) everything has rules, very strict rules that must be followed, as the sequence is almost as important, if not more so, than the final product, it's more fanciful and exciting and much more archetypal, like the an old fairy tale. in most of today's stories we tell kids that nothing binds them and they can do whatever they want, and while it is good to leave an abusive relationship and all kids must learn that this is a good thing, people will always be bound by something, something that stays their hand or forces action, maybe sometimes against their will, and a lot of children today (myself included) don't really grasp this concept because all our lives we've been fed the fairy tale that we control our own destiny and what i say goes.. but that's not always the reality. lessons like this can be learned from fairy tales of this nature.

cratf's illustrations (as i think i've said already) are absolutely gorgeous and i wish there were more of them in this book. the subject matter had the potential to be scary, so i think the scenes depicted were selected carefully and on some pages only a small picture was provided in the corner... but this illustrator is so good that anything she does is magnificent. i wish the whole book was full pages of her illustrations. the prose was good as well though. it had a decent flow and was over all pretty well done.

Anyone who has ever read "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle would likely appreciate this book. Although the heroine, Vasilisa, never denies her grief and despair, she graciously accepts whatever Life presents her with; as a result, she is richly rewarded. Near the end, she is perfectly happy and content with a life situation that is hardly glamorous. She is truly a light in the world and the most spiritual heroine I've ever encountered in a story for children. I've never seen my daughter so drawn to a character in a book. Vasilisa's strength comes from within and the message in this story is timeless. The doll is a beautiful symbol of the power of a quiet yet powerful love. Unlike most fairy tales the doll is always with Vasilisa as a constant reminder of her deceased mother's love and is actively engaged as a guiding force in her life. This book could be helpful to a child who has lost a mother. My daughter was not scared by the story or the illustrations. Recently, I purchased a book "coincidentally" from Amazon by Kris Waldherr, "Embracing the Goddess Within". Waldherr says that Baba Yaga, who is often presented in Russian fairy tales as an evil witch who eats children, was originally a goddess who represented the life cycle, from birth to death. I don't know how Amazon does it (and I don't want to know; I'm content to keep it as a mystery) but they manage to bring my attention to books that are perfect companions to ones I've already bought or previewed.
Last but not least, Mayer and Craft are a dynamic duo. This book is a work of art and thank goodness they are out there writing and illustrating such exquisite books for children.

I'm very selective in what books I choose for my children, but this was a must-buy for me. The rich illustrations drew me to it, and the superb, suspenseful writing kept me reading it right there in the store.

This story is a nice departure from the standard 'bad witch' and 'helpless young girl' tales, where the little girl has to be rescued. Instead, this story features a resourceful Russian girl who manages to use her wits to thwart the witch Baba Yaga. Not only is this book a great antidote to the 'someday my prince will come' tales, but it stands on its own as a rich example of Russian culture and legend

BY&VtB is a Russian Cinderella-tale of sorts featuring Vasilisa, whose only companion is a talking doll made by her mother. Sent by her wicked stepmother to the hut of Baba Yaga for a light, Vasilisa escapes only by completing vast quantities of houswork. My main problem with this story is that Vasilisa doesn't actually do any of the work--the doll does--leaving Vasilisa only to cook dinner for her (very scary) captor. Why does this earn Vasilisa the epithet "the brave"? A better name for her would be "Vasilisa the Complacent" since she never actually takes control of the situation or shows any will of her own. From the moment her father dies to the time her wicked stepmother is destroyed, she bends to the will of any imposing figure that commands her if for no other reason than she can't think of an alternative (see page 2 of the story)! Don't let the title fool you... Vasilisa is not an example of a strong, clever heroine like you'd expect!

On a more positive note, the illustrations are wonderful. Richly ornamented, finely detailed paintings occupy every other page. The text is decorated by orientalized landscapes and persianesque illuminations. Oh, and the paintings of Baba Yaga are terrifying! I spent a long time absorbed in the artwork of this book. It truly is enchanting!

Bottom line: Don't look to this story for a strong female protagonist. Enjoy it rather for its fine illustrations--they will be reward enough.

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful in this children's version of Baba Yaga's tale. It is a simple story on the surface, but rich with meaning. I spent a whole weekend workshop with 18 adults working with this book and exploring the meaning of the story, so it is not just for children!

It is intriguing in this beautiful book how the illustrator has managed to make the main protagonists look like matryoshka dolls or Baboushkas as I always thought they were till I read the lovely Magic Nesting Doll story. The attention to detail in the costumes give this retelling a richness and a Russian feel that makes it an absolute delight to read. I had to read it twice as soon as I got it. As I love dolls as much as books and have a huge collection of rag dolls this story of the courageous girl and her little industrious doll will have to be one story I don't give away and keep to read on special occasions to my grandkids.As a child I often imagined one of my dolls was really alive and it would keep me entertained while travelling for hours so finding such a story is like a dream come true!!!:)

This is a beautiful story, beautifully illustrated. The story is about how a mother's love can carry her daughter through the most dire situation. My daughters and I love this story, and although I've read the story again and again, it's still fresh and beautiful. I've decided to give it as a card with an inscription as one of my daughter's H.S. graduation gift. I know she'll read it again and again.

I was absolutely astonished by how well illustrated this book is. The pictures of Vasilisa are superb, and the book remains true to its Russian origin by including (among other thing) the drawings and words for Russian foods when describing a banquet. The pictures of the Baba Yaga are very detailed, but also a little scarey, which is something to keep in mind if you have very young children. I am extremely particular about which children's books I buy, but this book would be a must buy for any collection.

This retelling of a Russian "fairytale" combines a bit of wisdom, beauty and a tiny bit of suspense. It is my daughter's favorite, and she insists upon hearing it nightly, and I never refuse to, no matter how oft I read it.