Enough [Hardcover]

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Author), Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

This heart-warming Ukrainian folktale, set during the Great Famine of the 1930s, tells of a young girl's attempts to save her village from starvation. When soldiers take the village's wheat, Marusia hides just enough to survive. She and her father share with the other villagers over the winter, then plant the few remaining grains in the spring. A gigantic stalk of magical wheat grows attracting the attention of an equally large and magical stork. The stork flies with Marusia on a magical journey to the prairies, where farmers give Marusia enough wheat for her village. Word of the magical journey reaches a greedy officer, who tricks the stork into retracing the magical journey. But the officer does not understand the meaning of "enough" and his greed leads to his doom. Back in the village, Marusia and her father know they must devise a clever plan to protect their wheat from other greedy soldiers . . . and perhaps from the dictator himself!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This wordy fairy tale by the creators of Silver Threads is rooted in history; according to an introductory note, the setting is "during the Famine instigated by Stalin in 1930's Ukraine." But the volume suffers from the tall-tale quality of the narrative and the exaggerated characterizations. After one of "the Dictator's soldiers" appears on the farm where Marusia lives with her father, he announces, "Your wheat and your farm now belong to the People." He and his compatriots confiscate the crops of every farmer in the village. But Marusia hides one sack of grain that keeps them all alive during the hard winter, and plants seeds from which a magic stalk grows, attracting a large stork. The bird carries her on its back to a land of plenty so she can restock her village's supplies. In a predictable turn of events, another of the Dictator's soldiers makes a similar journey on the stork's back, but hordes so much grain that he and his sacks tumble off into the ocean. Unfortunately, the prose is often overblown when coupled with the oafish characters depicted (e.g., it is "the Dictator's wish that this land be filled with graves"). The villainsAand even the victimized UkrainiansAappear as caricatures in the artwork, which does little to vitalize this heavy-handed narrative. Ages 6-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Marusia and her father barely survive on what they grow on their little farm in Zhitya, so, when the Dictator's soldiers claim all of their crops, the family is destitute. Luckily, resourceful Marusia has hidden a bag of grain and feeds her father and friends a thin porridge throughout the winter. When they plant the last of the wheat, one magical stalk attracts a stork that takes the child across the ocean where fellow Ukrainians give her some grain. After she plants it, soldiers take this harvest, and an officer steals seeds from the magic stalk. In the end, his greed gets the best of him. Marusia is then able to come up with a plan to foil the Dictator and assure a peaceful life in Zhitya. As appealing and universal as the theme is, the book is flawed by gaps in its internal logic. When Marusia arrives in "a new world," the expatriates say, "Times are hard, but we are happy to share," but the illustrations show them surrounded by piles of grain. When the stork approaches the officer, the man remembers what happened to Marusia-but how would he know? Martchenko's pastoral illustrations are lovely, but the faces of the characters are cartoonlike and don't suit the mood of the story. Marusia sometimes looks like a distant cousin to Tintin, and this spunky heroine deserves better.-Jeanne Clancy Watkins, Chester County Library, Exton, PA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside; 1 edition (December 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550415093
• ISBN-13: 978-1550415094
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,615,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marsha Skrypuch is the author of many books for children and young adults. She has written more novels about the Armenian genocide than any other author in the English speaking world, yet she is not Armenian. "I write about people who must give up everything that is dear to them and travel to a new country. To me, these people are heroic."

Marsha tricked her teachers into thinking she knew how to read until it all caught up with her in grade 4 when she failed the provincial reading exam. Adding insult to injury, they made her repeat the year. As the tallest and oldest kid in the class, she didn't want to be seen learning to read with little skinny books and she was too proud to ask for help, so she taught herself how to read by taking out the fattest book in the children's section of the Brantford Public Library -- Oliver Twist. She kept on renewing it for a whole year. Reading that book was a turning point in her life. She decided that she loved reading, and wanted to write too.

Marsha loves speaking with students of all ages, especially those who are struggling academically or who feel "different".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, Childishly Simple, yet True, February 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Enough (Hardcover)

Few children's books set out to reflect on the tragic. Marsha Skrypuch's "enough," located in 1930s Soviet Ukraine, reminds us of the genocidal fury that Stalin and his collaborators unleashed on a Ukrainian peasantry that refused to submit to communist tyranny, and of the heavy price they paid for their resistance (many millions deliberately starved to death). While charming in its evocation of how a young girl helps to save her one village from this man-made famine, the true story, beguilingly intertwined with this folk tale, is one with a far less happy outcome. For me as a parent, and for my daughter, this important book took on a dual quality - not simply a good read it is simultaneously a reminder of the horrors that befell Ukrainians and many other victims of communism in the 20th century. Those crimes against humanity must never be forgotten. This book is not only a must read, it is a must have book, not only for children but for adults, for all of our futures may well depend on just how accurately we remember who the villains were and what they did. Some of them are still alive and amongst us.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be in libraries, public and personal, worldwide!--a Ukrainian folk tale, historical picture book about a real occurrence, June 7, 2008

By 

Yaroslava Benko "Mandrivnyk" (Arlington Heights, IL - USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enough (Paperback)

`Enough' was published with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and the Ontario Arts Council. The project was funded in part by the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko.

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (member, Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers) has been a keynote speaker; a panelist; a Writer in Residence at St. John's Kilmarnock School, 2004-5; taught at the Maritime Writers' Workshop in July 2003; and, has been nominated for numerous awards, including: in 2006, BC Stellar Award nomination for Nobody's Child; in 2004, Alberta Rocky Mountain Book Award nomination for Hope's War; in 2002, Nominated for the W.O. Mitchell Literary Prize for her body of work and mentorship of other writers; in 2006, named Canadian Ukrainian Woman of Influence by the World Congress of Ukrainian Women's Organizations; and, in 2001, recipient of Resource Links `Best of the Best 2001' in picture book category for `Enough.'

In this Ukrainian folk tale, historical picture book (`Enough'), she does a formidable job, indeed, in presenting to young readers (ages 6-8) a Ukrainian folk tale that deals with a very horrific, very real occurrence in Ukraine's history! `Enough' is complemented throughout with artistic, vibrantly colored, large illustrations depicting Ukrainian scenes from the story by Michael Martchenko, an illustrator of more than 50 books for children. He was awarded the Ruth Schwartz Award for Children's Book Illustration for Thomas' Snowsuit.

Albeit a Ukrainian folk tale, the subject matter, nonetheless, concerns a true chapter from Ukraine's history. `Enough' introduces the young child very gently and very aptly to Ukrainian's Holodomor.

E News Channels wrote recently informing readers that Holodomor, which took place between 1932-33 during Stalin's brutal reign against the Ukrainian populace, was genocide by famine--murder by starvation. Its aim was to bring about Sovietization of the Ukrainian people and forced collectivization of Ukraine's farms.

The Communist Regime confiscated grain produced by Ukrainian farmers, withheld other foodstuffs, punished those who attempted to flee, and executed anyone trying to obtain food. Thus, in the land called the Breadbasket of Europe, up to ten million men, women, and children were starved to death. Over 20% of the Ukrainian population died as a result of the famine; at least three million were children. At the height of the man-made famine, 25,000 Ukrainian villagers were dying per day, or 17 per minute.

An excellent reference source on the Holodomor is a DVD by Ukrainian-American Film Director Slavko Nowytski, `Harvest of Despair: The Unknown Holocaust.' He's been awarded numerous international film prizes; moreover, any undertaking bearing his name is guaranteed to be a professional production. This DVD is sold by Amazon.com (USA), or may be obtained through interlibrary loan.

Recommended in `Enough' are several sources to learn more about the Ukrainian Holodomor: The Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest (available on Amazon.com [USA]), Oxford University Press, 1987, ISBN 0195051807; Harvest of Despair, a 55-minute black and white film, ISBN 1-57299-377-4; and, on the Internet: `Black Famine in Ukraine 1932-33: A Struggle for Existence' by Andrew Gregorovich.

Not only is `Enough' an excellent Ukrainian folk tale with beautiful illustrations throughout, but it also acquaints admirably young readers with the Ukrainian Holodomor of 1932-33. The author and the illustrator have both handled a difficult subject tastefully and with the gentleness and art deserving a young reader's attention--it's heartily recommended for adults, too! `Enough' is available through Amazon.com [USA], on Amazon.ca and through interlibrary loan. This is a must-read, must-have book! A definite five-stars plus is merited!

P. S. Readers, you're invited to view 152 images (photos) of Ukraine taken by me and posted on Amazon.co.uk (the 2003 edition of Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine by Anna Reid). I actually took thousands of photos, but this sample will give you an idea of Ukraine and her people.

Although there are more (179 total) photos on Amazon.com, the quality of the photos is bad-many of them show specs. My photos do not have specs. There is something wrong with Amazon.com's software. The photos on Amazon.co.uk are better quality (without specs).

Kids and those young at heart may enjoy viewing 69 photos, which I took while traveling throughout Ukraine in 1993 and 1994--to see them, please visit my review of How the Animals Built Their House and Other Stories. Most of my reviews have photos--over 600. Additionally, the website of Encyclopedia of Ukraine has lots of info about Ukrainian and Ukrainians.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, September 12, 2002

By 

Sheri Lynne Harrison (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enough (Hardcover)

I loved this picture book. The paintings are funny but sad at the same time, and so is the story.

It reminds me of a Grim fairy tale. I didn't know about the Ukranian famine until I read this book.