FICTION

Vasilisa the Beautiful: A Russian Folktale

by Anthea BELL
retel. tr. from German by Anthea Bell. illus. by Anna Morgunova. 48p. Minedition. Feb. 2016. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9789888240500.
COPY ISBN
Gr 3–6—This retelling of Vasilisa's adventure takes a dreamlike turn with Morgunova's eye-grabbing swirls of color. Readers learn about Vasilisa, the most beautiful girl in the land, who suffers at the hands of her evil stepmother and stepsisters, receives help from a magical doll given to her by her now-deceased mother, and encounters Baba Yaga. The prose and visuals work well together, with Bell's matter-of-fact narrative complementing Morgunova's beautiful but surreal illustrations. With economy, the text reveals a grim but merciful persona in Baba Yaga and a gentle and true heart in Vasilisa, lovely in more than physical grace.
VERDICT An addition to large fairy tale collections that will satisfy more sophisticated tastes.
Reviewed by Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
A complex tale with Cinderella-like themes, translated and adapted from great Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasyev's original. Russian artist Morgunova's fanciful, finely detailed illustrations recall the aesthetics of Chagall, Klimt, and Picasso but are also uniquely beautiful. In a short introduction, the illustrator describes her interpretation of Baba Yaga, the woman from whom Vasilisa must get light, as an enchantress rather than a witch.
 , Jan 01, 2016

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