Customer Reviews

Baba Yaga & Vasilisa Bra

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

basic plot outline (so if you'd wish to remain oblivious please skip over the first paragraph)-

this is the story about a girl who is sent by her step mother to the evil witch in the woods to borrow a light. it starts off like the cinderella story with the father remarrying a woman with two daughters and then dying, leaving his daughter to be mistreated by the stepmother and stepsisters. the stepmother is jealous of the girl's beauty and sweet disposition in comparison with her own daughters so she sends the girl out into the woods to seek out the evil baba yaga to ask for a light. the thing about the witch is that very few people who meet her live to tell about it. the witch eats people and has a house built out of their bones. so the girl goes obediently to the witch and she takes with her a doll her mother made her before she died, and the doll is magical, because it was made with her mother's love. so when she gets to the witch and asks for a light the witch agrees to give her a light if she can complete the tasks set before her, which are to cook huge meals and clean everything. the baba yaga leaves and the girl frets over what to do and then her doll comes alive and does most of the chores for her. the witch is satisfied and gives the girl one of her lights which when she presents to her stepmother, burns the stepmother alive. at this point, though she wasn't the strongest heroine ever, i'm hopeful for a strong ending, thinking maybe she won't need to get married at the end of the book to justify the plot... but she does, and it's not a bad thing, i'm just getting a bit bored with the same ending over and over (in both adult and children's stories).

this story had more of a classical fairy tale feel to it. it had a dark atmosphere to it with the beautiful illustrations, which at some points i could see very small children being afraid, of the baba yaga for example, but for the most part i felt they kept the story pretty clean. it could have definitely been very much more graphic, which i would have loved, but this is a children's book. what i enjoyed about this book was that things had to be a certain way, things HAD to get done, like in older stories. even though the stepmother treats her very poorly, the girl still obeys her and minds her, and from a feminist perspective this can be seen in a very bad light. a submissive girl with no back bone and no will of her own, an abusive relationship in essence. but, if you look at it as something produced a time long ago, when morals were different, and from a fairy tale perspective, where (if you know your mythology) everything has rules, very strict rules that must be followed, as the sequence is almost as important, if not more so, than the final product, it's more fanciful and exciting and much more archetypal, like the an old fairy tale. in most of today's stories we tell kids that nothing binds them and they can do whatever they want, and while it is good to leave an abusive relationship and all kids must learn that this is a good thing, people will always be bound by something, something that stays their hand or forces action, maybe sometimes against their will, and a lot of children today (myself included) don't really grasp this concept because all our lives we've been fed the fairy tale that we control our own destiny and what i say goes.. but that's not always the reality. lessons like this can be learned from fairy tales of this nature.

cratf's illustrations (as i think i've said already) are absolutely gorgeous and i wish there were more of them in this book. the subject matter had the potential to be scary, so i think the scenes depicted were selected carefully and on some pages only a small picture was provided in the corner... but this illustrator is so good that anything she does is magnificent. i wish the whole book was full pages of her illustrations. the prose was good as well though. it had a decent flow and was over all pretty well done.

This is a re-telling of a Russian fairy tale illustrated by KY Craft [far and away the best illustrator I've ever encountered]. This is a Cinderella type tale turned graphically gruesome.

We bought this book for our daughter's 5th birthday. She has several other KY Craft books and adores them all. However when I recieved this one from amazon and opened it up my husband and I both worried that it was not appropriate for our children. [They have enough nightmares as it is!]

While the illustrations are beautifully detailed and absolutely amazing [as always with KY Craft], the story is about a horrible witch, Baba Yaga, who eats people and lives in a house made of bones [graphically illustrated in great detail]. She has a hideous frightening appearance [also rendered in great detail] and the entire book is extremely dark and frightening. This is definitely the stuff of nightmares and horror movies.

So, it was with much trepidation that I read the book to my 5 year old and 2 year old... I expected them to be very frightened. To the contrary, they found Baba Yaga *fascinating* and LOVED the story... they want me to read it again and again.

As an adult I appreciated the level of detail and the amazing art work, but I was amazed that my young children could read this book and not be terrified. They truly adore it though... who would have guessed?!!

My two daughters, 7 and 5, love this book. It's very well written and vivid, and the illustrations are wonderful.

BY&VtB is a Russian Cinderella-tale of sorts featuring Vasilisa, whose only companion is a talking doll made by her mother. Sent by her wicked stepmother to the hut of Baba Yaga for a light, Vasilisa escapes only by completing vast quantities of houswork. My main problem with this story is that Vasilisa doesn't actually do any of the work--the doll does--leaving Vasilisa only to cook dinner for her (very scary) captor. Why does this earn Vasilisa the epithet "the brave"? A better name for her would be "Vasilisa the Complacent" since she never actually takes control of the situation or shows any will of her own. From the moment her father dies to the time her wicked stepmother is destroyed, she bends to the will of any imposing figure that commands her if for no other reason than she can't think of an alternative (see page 2 of the story)! Don't let the title fool you... Vasilisa is not an example of a strong, clever heroine like you'd expect!

On a more positive note, the illustrations are wonderful. Richly ornamented, finely detailed paintings occupy every other page. The text is decorated by orientalized landscapes and persianesque illuminations. Oh, and the paintings of Baba Yaga are terrifying! I spent a long time absorbed in the artwork of this book. It truly is enchanting!

Bottom line: Don't look to this story for a strong female protagonist. Enjoy it rather for its fine illustrations--they will be reward enough.

I had a trompe-l'oil mural done in my breakfast nook, in my Spanish bungalow. The idea was that one eating at my breakfast table would be sitting outside in a garden setting. I checked out various books from our public library and this is how I discovered the illustrator K. Y. Craft. My mural is now Craft-inspired and marvelous. I had to order this book in particular because of the marvelous Russian-inspired pictures. K. Y. Craft puts such amazing detail into everything she does, whether its the border around the page or the picture itself. You could literally design a child's room by framing these pictures. The story itself is a mix of Cinderella and Hansel & Gretel, with the prince being a Tsar at the end.

This retelling of a Russian "fairytale" combines a bit of wisdom, beauty and a tiny bit of suspense. It is my daughter's favorite, and she insists upon hearing it nightly, and I never refuse to, no matter how oft I read it.

This is a wonderful story with captivating illistrations, and good book for all ages. I loved it and read it over and over again

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story! The folktale has elements of many familiar fairytales, including Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel. Most impressive, were the illuminated manscript- style illustrations which drew your eye on to the next page. There are beautifully rendered pictures and borders on almost every page! Enjoy!

This book is wonderful. I love the way Mayer writes her childrens books. Also K. Y. Craft is a wonderful illustrator. This book would be a fine addition to any library, child or adult.

I was absolutely astonished by how well illustrated this book is. The pictures of Vasilisa are superb, and the book remains true to its Russian origin by including (among other thing) the drawings and words for Russian foods when describing a banquet. The pictures of the Baba Yaga are very detailed, but also a little scarey, which is something to keep in mind if you have very young children. I am extremely particular about which children's books I buy, but this book would be a must buy for any collection.