Customer Reviews

The Magic Nesting Doll

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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In Sleeping Beauty, the young woman is enchanted and lies in a death-like sleep until awakened by love's first kiss. In The Magic Nesting Doll, it is the Russian prince, the Tsarevitch, instead who has been charmed into an icy block by his uncle, the Grand Vizier. A peasant girl, Katya, hears of his fate and moves Heaven and Earth to save him. If you love the story of Sleeping Beauty, you will, if you are like me, love this book as well.

Katya has been reared by her grandmother at the edge of the forest. Before she dies, Katya's grandmother gives her a nesting doll, a matryoshka, and tells Katya the doll has magic powers. "If your need is great, open the doll and help will come." Katya can only do this three times, however. "After that, the magic will be gone." She is told though, "Keep the doll and remember me."

Soon after her grandmother dies, Katya finds that the world is gripped by an icy hand. The sun, moon, and stars are all gone. An innkeeper tells her about the frozen Prince, and she makes her way to his side. The Grand Vizier does his best to deflect Katya, but with the help of her doll, Katyia is unstoppable.

I appreciate stories like this one because they take familiar fairy tales of human loss and love, and allow females to play the heroine's role. In too many of our classic stories, the males are the "good guys" and some woman is portrayed as the source of evil. In real life, people of both sexes probably have equal potential for good and questionable behavior. A story like this one makes that point without being too obvious about it.

The book also rings deep within me like the allegories of tales about spring, and the reawakening of the Earth. In legends and myths, women are often portrayed in the role of bringing life back again . . . so Katya's role as Earth Mother seems appropriate.

The book also uses references to animals that are important in Russian folk lore such as bears, wolves, and fire birds. This makes a connection to Russian thmes in a way so that when you see Russian ballets, this story will come to mind. And this story will remind you of the ballets, if you know them already.

The nesting doll is an interesting metaphor for the idea of coming closer to your real self, as well. That psychological reference will be understood implicitly by many, even if they cannot articulate it.

This book is wonderfully improved by the illustrations. They are primarily done in a style reminiscent of Art Deco, but with an oriental patterning and detail that make them richer. You will be reminded of stained glass. With vivid colors and strong contrasts, the conflicts in the story are enhanced and strengthened. This is one of the most appropriately illustrated childrens' book that I have ever seen. Well done, Ms. Laurel Long!

But, to me, the greatest part of this book is that for all of its magical references, it relies on the character and intuition of Katya for its power. This is a wonderful statement about the personal power that we all have hidden within us, like the normally covered nesting dolls.

After you have finished enjoying this story with your child or grandchild, I suggest that you talk together about where else personal initiative can make a difference in someone else's life. Then encourage your child or grandchild to take that initiative, and learn her or his power directly.

May you all live happily ever after!

My mother got this book and another one also illustrated by Laurel Long (The Mightiest Heart by Lynn Cullen) for my son and daughter for Christmas. The very first thing I noticed was the beautiful, BEAUTIFUL artwork. It's definitely a picture book worth having for the *pictures*! :-)

The story itself is also excellent. It is good bedtime story length. The plot is a wonderful Sleeping Beauty fairy tale with a female heroine. Katya swears to break the evil spell that the Grand Vizier has cast on the Tsarevitch, and she succeeds with the help of the magic nesting dolls (matryoshka) her dying grandmother left her.

My children and I have really enjoyed this book.

This book is fairly long for a picture book, and so it may be hard for younger kids (or just kids with short attention spans) to sit through, even though the story is good. The illustrations, though, are breathtaking, and i am sure that there are a lot of younger kids who could make up their own intricate stories just based on the pictures. It's nice to see, as well, a fairy tale type book where there is a heroine who is saving the prince (or tsarovitch, in this case), though i guess it would have been nice to see Katya battling a dragon or something rather than just making wishes. Oh, well. It's a delightful book nonetheless. :)

A wonderful story, with lovely illustrations. Ms. Ogburn wrote an original folk tale, and Ms. Long has matched Ms. Ogburn's art. Perfect for reading aloud and looking at together. Ideal for the holidays and beyond.

This is the most exquisitely illustrated and delightfully magical book for children I have ever read. My daughter just gazes at the pictures, and she'll never let me read "just a few pages". We always have to read the entire book, and each and every time she is as enchanted as the first time we read it together. This is the kind of story I wish my mother could have read to me as a child. And I'm hoping someday I'll be able to read it to my grandchildren. I intend to keep this book forever. I cannot say enough about the beautiful illustrations...they are more exquisite than any real place on earth could ever be. As a result, they're sure to capture your child's heart and imagination. The facial expressions are haunting and I find myself wishing we could just leap into the page and spend a little time in this world. I am only wondering if Laurel Long has prints available? I would so love to hang one on my daughter's wall in her bedroom. Please read this book. It's just fabulous.

The illustrations in this book are reminiscent of the lacquered boxes that come from Russia - textured, detailed, and layered. A gorgeous book retelling a classic Russian tale - a wonderful addition to any child's library, but particularly children adopted from Russia.

We gave this to our Russian-born 4-year-old daughter as a Santa present and she has wanted me to read it to her just about every day since (it's been six weeks). We enjoy it on so many levels. The illustrations are rich and boldly saturated, reminiscent of Russian folk art, and each time we read it we find new details in the pages. Several of the illustrations cross two pages and tell bits of the story themselves. The story reads like a classic folk tale, although it is a new story by the author. It flips the traditional boy-saves-princess narrative, with a (self reliant and brave) peasant girl who breaks the (evil) spell holding the Tsarevitch and his kingdom in a perpetual winter. She is aided by a magic nesting doll containing a peasant doll, a bear, a wolf, and a firebird, all of whom are kind and helpful. With its gentle tone and its good-triumphs-over-evil ethic (while not being too didactic), it is sure to hold her interest for many years.

While this book is appealing simply as a beautiful children's book, we are particularly interested in how seamlessly it embeds elements of Russian culture, from the nesting doll to the animals to the prince's gold-domed castle. We do have adoption-themed children's books, but part of our approach to telling Anna her birth story is to teach her about her homeland, and The Magic Nesting Doll conveys historical Russia as a place of wild beauty, brave souls, and good magic. At four, our little one knows Russia only as a place with a name, but we anticipate that this text will help us introduce her country of birth to her as she grows up and is able to understand. For now, she loves the pictures, can recite the storyline by heart, and is asking for a firebird doll. We highly recommend this story.

What an excellent book. Both the story and the illustrations are superb. From the concept of the young girl out on her own, with just a small nesting doll her late grandmother bequeathed to her, to the magic the nesting doll contains to help Katya release a spell brought upon by a nasty vizier, to the fairy tale ending with her saving the prince, the story delivers. I have never seen a child's book with such exquisite illustrations. My five year old loves this book and we have re-read it many times; she has also recommended it on her own to friends and teachers. This is a wonderful tale told in an old style, that will endear itself to children, parents and grandparents.

I love the illustrations in this, they are sure to fascinate many detail oriented children, they are very much like the art that is painted onto the little nesting dolls. The story is a wonderful sort of reverse Sleeping Beauty, but told from the rescuer's point of view, Katya is a sweet but strong and determined heroine who rides a wolf, a bear and a firebird to save her sleeping prince.

A great gift for a child (or inner child) who loves fairytales.

Story telling is becoming a lost art. This book has a wonderful story to tell, and beautiful pictures throughout!
Perhaps someone could make a matryoshka set with the characters in this story?