Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
lisavegan's review against another edition
3.0
Darn! I just hate books where wolves are made out (as they are in many fairy tales, and this is a sort of fairy tale) as aggressive against humans and as vicious/bad/evil. Unfortunately, that’s what happens in a part of this story.
The rest of the message is lovely, especially knowing from reading other Polacco books, how much she treasured her relationship with her grandmother.
This is the story of a “creature” who is loathed and feared, yet who is actually lonely and has strong maternal feelings and yearns for a relationship with a child. She finds a way to be a surrogate grandmother. The story’s meaning is captured by a line toward the end of the book: “Those who judge one another on what they hear or see, and not on what they know of them in their hearts, are fools indeed!”
I appreciated how Russian words are interspersed throughout the story, and the illustrations were very special: intricate and colorful and in an interesting style. My favorite illustration was the picture of Babushka Baba Yaga planning her makeover, dipping her finger in the water, surrounded by the forest animals and the borrowed real babushkas’ clothes.
Polacco dedicates this book to the fifty American school children who went to art camp with her in Russia in the summer of 1989; that must have been an enriching experience for all.
The rest of the message is lovely, especially knowing from reading other Polacco books, how much she treasured her relationship with her grandmother.
This is the story of a “creature” who is loathed and feared, yet who is actually lonely and has strong maternal feelings and yearns for a relationship with a child. She finds a way to be a surrogate grandmother. The story’s meaning is captured by a line toward the end of the book: “Those who judge one another on what they hear or see, and not on what they know of them in their hearts, are fools indeed!”
I appreciated how Russian words are interspersed throughout the story, and the illustrations were very special: intricate and colorful and in an interesting style. My favorite illustration was the picture of Babushka Baba Yaga planning her makeover, dipping her finger in the water, surrounded by the forest animals and the borrowed real babushkas’ clothes.
Polacco dedicates this book to the fifty American school children who went to art camp with her in Russia in the summer of 1989; that must have been an enriching experience for all.
stellarae25's review against another edition
5.0
This was really really sweet! I read it aloud to my family and my mom and sister cried lol
amandamlyons's review against another edition
5.0
This is a really great story about how Baba Yaga goes from being the legendary witch to being a grandmotherly wise woman.
irishfolkofcork's review against another edition
4.0
I've read tales of Baba Yaga before and Polacco's rendition of her tales is true. Normally Baba Yaga is a feared and hated character. I enjoyed the fact that she was portrayed here as someone who had normal wishes and wants. It was cute!
t_neoma's review
4.0
I agree with other people's critiques on the wolves-as-evil-people-hunting-villans part. (It kinda seems like a lazy move in order to have a dramatic hero moment.) And my animal-loving kid didn't like it either. She had a little rant about the vilification of wolves (and sharks and a few other predators). But this is a very short moment in the book! I really like this book and my daughter does too. I am a fan of Baba Yaga tales and I enjoy a good retelling. A story of longing, love, and community. The illustrations are so saturated, sinewy, and beautiful.
raptorimperator's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Polacco's take on the Baba Yaga myth, having that all those horrible and terrifying things were just rumors, and that the real Baba Yaga was just the last of her kind fairy-like spirit that was lonely and wanted to have someone to love. As with most Polacco's books, there's a moral to the story--judging for yourself, not from what you've been told by others. In other words, don't listen to rumors, because rumors are often inaccurate. This version of Baba Yaga was especially heart-warming when you know how special Polacco's own Babushka was to her. As always, Polacco's vibrant and colorful artwork adds more life to the story.
mbrusalis's review against another edition
5.0
In this version of the traditional folk tale, Baba Yaga was kind, and very lonely. And as she watches the babushkas of the village delight in their grandchildren, she longs for a grandchild of her own. Then she has an idea: She will be a babushka instead of a Baba Yaga. She dresses herself up as a kindly grandmother and enters the village. When she comes across a young woman and her grandmotherless son, they adopt her as their very own babushka, and as the days pass, Baba Yaga and the boy, Victor, grow to love each other very much.
Until one day, Victor hears stories of the horrible, wicked Baba Yaga, and she knows that she must go back to the woods before the child finds out who she really is. Legend would have Baba Yaga evil and unkind, but in Patricia Polacco's version of this Russian folktale, we are reminded to judge not by rumor and appearance, but by what we know in our own hearts to be true.
Until one day, Victor hears stories of the horrible, wicked Baba Yaga, and she knows that she must go back to the woods before the child finds out who she really is. Legend would have Baba Yaga evil and unkind, but in Patricia Polacco's version of this Russian folktale, we are reminded to judge not by rumor and appearance, but by what we know in our own hearts to be true.