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Summary
Summary
Whirr. Whirr. Clunkety-clank Here comes Baba Yaga! Flying her mortar and pestle, the witch with the long iron nose scours the countryside for plump young children to eat. But will she be a match for the fiesty little girl she hopes to throw into her soup? New York Times best-selling author Jane Yolen has created a clever, original story based on hundreds of traditional Russian folktales about the famed scary old witch.Vladimir Vagin's remarkably detailed borders and intricate scenes will give readers chills and laughs as they read this witty tale.
Author Notes
Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After college, she became an editor in New York City and wrote during her lunch break. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books for children, young adults, and adults.
Her other works include the Emperor and the Kite, Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and The Devil's Arithmetic. She has won numerous awards including the Kerlan Award, the Regina Medal, the Keene State Children's Literature Award, the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-"Whirrr. Whirr. Clunkety-clank." Baba Yaga flies across a moonlit sky over a verdant forest in her mortar and pestle, and readers can almost hear the whistling and shrieking of the wind as she slices through it. Yolen's vivid writing reflects the flavor of the original tales and comes alive with repetition of key phrases throughout the text. The author wisely injects humor to lighten up her version of the witch who scours the forest while seeking children to eat and thus provides a refreshingly original twist to the tale. She invents a fast-thinking heroine who uses her wits to defeat the witch, even spoon-feeding her at the end. Vagin's illustrations highlight the humor in the text. For instance, Baba Yaga flies upside down with garlic cloves and herbs tumbling from her pockets; and her nose is comically painted as a sharply pointed piece of steel-gray iron. Dappled sunlight on many pages and an especially lovely pastel-colored rainbow in the capture scene complement the mood and ending of the story. Detailed source notes appear on the last page. Use this tale with William Steig's Shrek! (Farrar, 1993) for a deliciously amusing romp with funny, spooky stories.-James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Two strong females dominate this Baba Yaga tale from the team behind The Firebird. Faithful to Russian tradition, the Baba Yaga featured here flies about in an enormous mortar and pestle, searching for children to capture and bring home to eat. In Yolen's version, a nameless girl triumphs over the witch, and reforms her in the bargain. After the girl falls off her father's truck on the way to market, Baba Yaga offers her a ride in her strange mode of transport. "Something is not right," the girl thinks, as the witch carries her off in the wrong direction. "But I have two good feet, a fine sense of direction, two strong arms, and a clever mind. I will get away on my own." Meticulously drafted paintings depict old Russia's onion domes, birch forests and steely gray skies. Traditional motifs and stylized forms infuse the illustrations with a strong folk flavor, as they also incorporate antique tools and peasant costumes. Baba Yaga's black fingernails and scythe-shaped iron nose mark her as a villainess. Yolen's cheerful outcome emphasizes the girl's sound judgment and friendly reconciliation with the witch, while Vagin's illustrations provide an undercurrent of ever-present danger. Ages 3-6. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) In a forthright note, Yolen describes the Russian witch Baba Yaga, lists key sources of stories about her, then adds that she herself created this particular tale. And an appealing one it is, with the kind of feisty little girl so prevalent in folklore and with its traditional flavor entertainingly updated: the girl's father drives a pickup, and she knows better than to talk to strangers (or to witches). But when she falls off the back of a truckload of turnips in the forest, even her ""two good feet"" and ""fine sense of direction"" don't quite serve. When the child accepts a ride in Baba Yaga's flying mortar and pestle, she finds herself scheduled as the hungry crone's next meal. But the clever girl sends Baba Yaga to market to buy turnips from her father, and he follows the witch back to the chicken-footed hut--where his daughter cooks up a satisfying turnip stew for them all. Vagin's Disney-bright art features an appealing pigtailed child, an autumn landscape of meadows and birches, and a dramatically beaked witch just scary enough to add tension to the brisk, cheerful narrative. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Yolen crafts an original, updated tale from characters and elements found in traditional ones. A young girl falls out of her father's turnip truck on the way to market, and it isn't long before Baba Yaga sweeps down in a rickety flying mortar and pestle--"Whirrr. Whirr. Clunkety-clank"--to carry her off to the witch's chicken-legged cottage. Before she can be plunked into the pot, however, the quick witted child suggests fattening her up with turnip soup--so off hies the witch to the market, where the child's father quickly puts two and two together. Vagin ignores repeated references to a dark and tangled forest to create a tidy, well-lit woodland setting, but Baba Yaga, with her sharply hooked iron nose and long black fingernails, comes off as an entertaining blend of scary and comical. And in a concluding twist, the crone develops such a taste for turnip soup that she invites child and father to stay for dinner, then bids them farewell with a friendly wave. A good-humored remake, featuring a kinder, gentler witch than the general run of Baba Yaga tales. (Picture book/folktale. 7-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. Baba Yaga a vegetarian? In this original story about the Russian folktale witch, Baba Yaga travels via her mortar and pestle, lives in a house set on chicken legs, and, stuck with nothing but watery soup, longs to eat a plump child. It seems she may get her chance for a good meal after a little girl falls from her father's turnip truck and into the witch's clutches. The clever child buys some time by convincing Baba Yaga to fatten her up with turnips. The child's father catches on when the witch shows up to buy his goods. By the time he comes to the rescue, the girl has cooked a turnip stew so hot and filling that Baba Yaga has changed her tune: it's better than plump children. Compared with some of the original tales, this is thin soup, with an inconsistent, somewhat strained plot. But there are some nice storytelling flourishes and some well-detailed artwork, with the feel of old Russia, perfectly suits the story. Many libraries will welcome this nonviolent New Age Baba Yaga. --Linda Perkins Copyright 2003 Booklist
