Marushka and the Month Brother [Hardcover]

Revisiting a favorite folktale from her childhood in Czechoslovakia, Vojtech teams again with Sturges, her collaborator on Ten Flashing Fireflies. They lace their lyrical narrative with affecting imagery as they retell the plight of lovely Marushka, whose "warm smile could thaw a January day." Yet it has no such effect on her cruel stepmother and demanding stepsister. During the bitterly cold winter, they set the patient girl to impossible tasks, bidding her to fetch violets, juicy strawberries and fresh apples. Marushka fills each of these outlandish requests with the help of the Month Brothers, 12 godlike figures she discovers seated around a fire in a snowy hollow. Vojtech's softly focused paintings accentuate, with gentle humor, the contrast between the kind, hardworking Marushka and her greedy, lazy tormentors. While kids will giggle at the lumpy stepsister's decidedly pig-like nose, such details don't interrupt the overall impression of timeless grace. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Large-eyed, fair-haired Marushka is sent by her evil stepmother and stepsister into a storm in this retelling of a familiar Slavic folktale. She climbs toward the light and discovers the 12 Month Brothers, who help her to meet the impossible challenges that her relatives impose on her-finding violets in January, strawberries soon after, etc. Everyday language ("Your sister wants strawberries! Get some for her") is supported by full-color, water-based illustrations that display a hint of irony. The stepsister's nose is turned up, pig-like, sniffing violets, while Marushka makes a blot on the horizon as she trudges off for berries. Interesting composition lifts this treatment above the ordinary, with well-lit faces and changing angles. In the end, Marushka is free of the two step-bullies and finds friendship in the enduring light of the Month Brothers. Collections that do not include Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and Margot Tomes's Little Sister and the Month Brothers (Clarion, 1976) will welcome this pleasing offering. It makes a satisfying read-aloud or a good choice for independent reading.
Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-8. In a freshly told version of an old Czechoslovakian folktale, once again the beautiful good daughter wins out in the end against her evil stepmother and jealous stepsister. Marushka does all the work in the house, but they drive her out into the blinding snow with orders to bring back violets, then strawberries, then apples. Each time she struggles through the storm and, high in the mountains, gets help from the 12 Month Brothers, who melt the snow and change the seasons so that she can pick the flowers and fruits. Then her evil sister tries to grab some fruits herself, and her mother rushes after her; but the Month Brothers make a blizzard, and Marushka's evil family is never seen again. Vojtech's illustrations in soft tones of blue and red show the confrontation between the evil duo and the brave adventurer, whose virtue finally gets its just reward. Pair this with Sanfield's retelling of a Chinese story, Just Rewards (BKL O 1 96). Hazel Rochman

This Slavic folktale features Marushka, a Cinderella-like figure whose smile is said to bring a thaw in January. Not only does she wait upon her lazy stepmother and loathsome stepsister, Holena, she must also cater to their demands: It may be January, but Holena wants violets. ``And don't come back without them,'' Holena's mother bellows into a blizzard. Marushka struggles through the snow, up a mountainside, where she happens upon the Month Brothers, 12 odd fellows who minister over the seasons. Brother March conjures spring just long enough for Marushka to pick a posy. Next Holena wants strawberries; Brother June helps out. Then apples--Brother September bails Marushka out one last time. Greed does in the hideous Holena and her mother, and their comeuppance is deeply gratifying. So are Vojtech's illustrations, shot through with folkloric touches and redolent of the seasons. (Picture book/folklore. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.