Baba Yaga's Assistant

Good book. Excellent condition, delivered fast. Thank you.

So, after reading a few novels recently which all had adultery at their heart, I felt that my latest read should be a little more, relaxed, shall we say? And, considering that I need to get on and read books from my tbr pile, I decided upon this one, for a quick read.When I originally picked this graphic novel, I did so because of the illustrator, Emily Carroll. Having read a couple of other graphic novels by her, I was eager to find something else that she had worked on. She does not disappoint this time round either. Carroll's illustrations perfectly enhance the tale by Marika McCoola. McCoola's tale perfectly uses elements of folk and fairy tales, to tell this tale. Carroll's colour palette is fantastic, bringing the illustrations and characters to life.For a quick read, this novel was perfect.

This graphic novel is for younger readers, but I picked it up because the art style is really cute and I'm currently interested in Baba Yaga's character and folklore.The main story is great. Poor Masha has been left alone after the death of her beloved grandmother, who used to tell her stories and teach her things while her dad was off doing whatever (it's not specified). I felt really bad for her because her dad surprises her at the beginning of the book with his new fiancée and her daughter - like he's already replaced her with a new, ready-made family. I actually really despised the dad and he wasn't even the main villain of the story.So, feeling like she's no longer wanted - and her dad not really doing anything to stop her - Masha goes off to seek Baba Yaga and become her new assistant, spurred on by the stories that her grandmother used to tell her. For the story being about Baba Yaga, to a certain degree, she isn't actually in it a whole lot and I was a bit let down because of this.It's still a cute story for younger kids and I think it shows a lot about forgiveness and being brave enough to do the right thing. The art really brings the story to life and the story and illustrations combined make a very visually appealing book for kids. Definitely worth picking up for those interested in fairy tale type stories.

I almost gave up at the start of this book because of the heroine's unrelenting angsty moping. But be patient, after the setup and then the appearance of Baba Yaga the book really takes off.We start with our heroine Masha. Her beloved mother died when she was a child, leaving her to be raised by a distant father and a loving, wise, romantic and possibly magical grandmother. Then grandmother dies, although we get to know her well through numerous flashbacks. Distant Dad suddenly decides to remarry. We get an actually very nice step-mother and a horrible, bratty little step-sister. At this point Masha decides to run away and seek out Baba Yaga, who needs a new assistant. Also at this point I would have been fine if Baba had just eaten Masha and called it a day.But wait. In the woods, confronted by Baba Yaga's chicken leg house, Masha transforms into a resourceful, funny, clever and spirited heroine. Baba Yaga turns out to be full of sarcastic wisecracks. We end up with a very entertaining battle of wills between these two. The fun angle is that as Baba Yaga sets tests for Masha, Masha has to flash back to old Baba Yaga stories and to tales told to Masha by her grandmother in order to figure out how to pass the various tests. That's how we end up getting a mix of old-fashioned Baba Yaga and modern Baba Yaga. It reads like an anthology of Baba Yaga stories, but all tied together into the story of Masha's trials.The inspired illustrations really help carry the day. Masha is the least well realized character, sometimes being drawn in a bland and flat style and sometimes drawn with a little oomph. The illustrator had to distinguish between present day action, flashbacks, and Masha's remembering of the old folk tales, and she used different drawing and coloring styles to try to keep these different aspects of the story distinct. That worked pretty well. In any event, Baba Yaga is always sharp, crazed and compelling on the page. (See, the book cover.) The same is true for her house-on-chicken-legs, which has quite a personality of its own.So, there's a lot going on here, but the bottom line for me was that this seemed to be a very inviting and accessible intro to the old Russian tales, and nicely drawn and written for a middle grade reader. That was a tough order to fill, and I'd call it a success.Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

A modern day Baba Yaga story that has a girl raised on the folklore using her knowledge to help her pass the witch's tests. Thus, we get many Baba Yaga legends all rolled into the one story. A fun, simple story with just a hint of spookiness suitable for middle graders. The young naughty step-sister turns out to be more disturbing that Baba Yaga herself. I enjoyed the illustrations and the atmosphere, finding myself immersed in an evocative quick read.