Clever Katya by Mary Hoffman

 Clever Katya retold by Mary Hoffman. Illus. by Marie Cameron, 1998.

This book is based on the folk tale “The Wise Little Girl.” When two brothers, Dmitri and Ivan, have a dispute over the ownership of a new foal, they take their case before the young Tsar. He sets them a riddle, and the horse will belong to he who answers best. Luckily for Ivan, his seven year old daughter, Katya, easily solves the puzzle. Unfortunately, the Tsar sets her another riddle, and if she fails to solve it, it will be off with Ivan’s head. She must appear at the palace neither on horseback nor on foot, neither naked nor dressed and neither bringing a present nor empty-handed. Could Katya be clever enough to fulfill the bargain, save her father and impress the Tsar?

Cameron’s vivid pictures are bordered with patterns of sunbursts, leaves and birds in a palette of gold, red and deep blue. These are matched by the design around the letters beginning the first word of each page’s text. Every frame is bursting with things that please the eye, including Katya appearing at the palace, with her non-garment streaming out of the border.

My Russia project continues: Easter Picture Books

The Birds’ Gift: a Ukrainian Easter Story. Retold by Eric Kimmel. Illus. by Katya Krenina, 1999.

Katrusya and her grandfather are enjoying a walk in the new winter snow, when they spot a golden bird buried and half-frozen beneath a tree. They decide to take it home and save as many more birds as possible, enlisting help from their family, the local priest, and finally the entire village. The birds live in the eaves of the houses and church, and near winter’s end, they indicate that they need to be free. Katrusya misses them, but a special surprise awaits her on Easter when the birds return. The story has a spiritual message to trust in God to take care of every creature and to believe in miracles. After the tale, Kimmel has an Author’s Note explaining about Pysanky, the art of decorating eggs.

Krenina’s heartwarming art is filled with little birds snuggled into Katrusya’s shawl and mittens, flying in a beam of light inside the church and perching in trees and on rooftops after their return. Other outstanding pictures are of the Easter celebration, with the family in their colorful Ukrainian costume, and the young daughters wearing crowns of flowers with streaming ribbons. A two page spread shows the beautifully decorated eggs with their fine and complicated designs. Katrusya’s own egg is very special, with little golden birds against a sky blue background.

Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco, 1988.

In this story, another kind person is rewarded with beautiful eggs and a special surprise. Babushka, who paints elaborately patterned eggs for the Moskva (Moscow) Easter Festival, also feeds the local caribou in winter. One day, when caring for the animals, she sees a goose shot down by a hunter, and takes her home to tend, naming her Rechenka. As Rechenka recovers, she begins to explore the house and accidentally breaks the painted eggs that Babushka has prepared. However, every morning after until the festival, Rechenka lays a gorgeous and miraculous egg for Babushka, who is able to go to the festival after all. When she returns, there is one more lovely treat awaiting her.

Polacco’s charming art partners wonderfully with this sweet story. I especially like the scenes where Babushka is with her animals, feeding the caribou in the snow or sharing her tea with her little goose. The pictures are full of color and details that remind us that the story is set in Eastern Europe. Babushka’s patterned dresses and scarves stand out against the mostly white backgrounds. Her eggs are complex and serious, with black ink to contrast with the colors. Rechenka’s eggs are much brighter, with heavy use of pink, red, orange and blue. Polacco includes Russian religious icons In Babushka’s home and at the festival. She shows us the fantastic onion domes of the city. This all adds up to a book that has been rightfully popular with readers since the 1980s.

Take a look at her blog at: Patricia Polacco.

Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsberg

Clay Boy adapted by Mirra Ginsburg. Illus. by Jos. A. Smith, 1997.

In this bizarre folktale, an old couple desires another child, and so Grandpa makes a boy out of clay. When their son comes to life he is incredibly hungry. He eats all of the food in Grandpa and Grandma’s house, then swallows down his new parents and gradually eats up the whole village! Luckily, for all, Clay Boy meets a clever white goat. Smith’s aquarelle and goache paintings show Clay Boy as round and cute like a gingerbread cookie, but as he grows the pictures become pretty grotesque, such as when he dangles grandma into his toothless, open mouth. I think that the story and pictures are creepy, but some people might just see it as funny. I prefer Margaret Read MacDonald's Danish Folktale  The Fat Cat because although the cat also devours everything, there is a little more humor involved, and the feline is redeemed.

Two cute new picture books!

Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley. Illus. by Roberta Angaramo.


Inspired by the footwear in Puss in Boots, Dog goes to the shoe shop to get two pair for himself. But, he soon learns that such fancy boots are poor for digging. He swaps out pair after pair of shoes until he finds just what he needs. Until he reads Little Red Riding Hood… The adorable pictures of the little brown and white dog and his fashion choices will amuse and please your audience, and for even more fun check out the back end paper of Dog modeling all manner of fairy tale head wear!

I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal. Illus. by Marc Rosenthal.


Willy loves his sock monkey Bobo. Unfortunately, so does Earl the cat. Therefore, the struggle to possess Bobo ensues. The picture book crowd will enjoy this simple story and root for Willy, who does everything with Bobo’s help, or crafty Earl, who just really wants to snuggle with the monkey. Line drawings with touches of bright color allow the expressive characters to take center stage. Rosenthal captures Willy’s moods of wide eyed dismay when Bobo disappears, worry when he and his monkey must walk past a big dog’s yard, and displeasure when he discovers Earl silently making off with Bobo. Earl looks cute and blank-faced. Mostly. His other expressions are hilarious. Just fun.

The Firebird

Like Peter and the Wolf, the Firebird story is also well known with musical accompaniment, this time as a ballet by Igor Stravinsky. In picture book variations of the tale, some authors and illustrators include the story’s musical and stage roots, while others address it strictly as a fairy tale.

 The Tale of The Firebird by Gennady Spirin, Translated by Tatiana Popova, 2002.

Spirin/Popova’s version is rooted in three Russian fairy tales: “Ivan-Tsarevitch and the Gray Wolf,” “Baba Yaga,” and “Koshchei the Immortal.” In this story, Ivan-Tsarevitch spies a Firebird while watching for the thief of golden apples in the garden of his father the Tsar. Failing to catch it, Ivan is sent to capture the special bird for the Tsar. He is aided in his quest by a magical, shape changing wolf. Because he fails to listen to the wolf’s instructions, Ivan complicates things and ends up having to complete seemingly impossible tasks for two more rulers. Doing so, he tangles with our old friend, Baba Yaga, and the evil Koshchei the Immortal. Koshchei has imprisoned Yelena the Beautiful, a princess of marriageable age. Luckily, Ivan is brave, powerful and full of love.

In my opinion, Gennady Spirin is a splendid artist, and nowhere is this better displayed than in his illustrated Russian tales (more to come on this). Gorgeous, extremely detailed watercolor pictures fill The Firebird. Often they are shaped like palace windows, some in triptychs, many bordered with patterns of trees, Firebirds and small portraits of the story’s characters. The book has an antique feel, with parchment colored pages and a rich color scheme of gold, navy, and touches of berry red. On the book’s front cover we find the amazing bird in all its glory, appearing as a peacock with radiant golden tail feathers. Every spread is a feast of pattern and visual texture, from Ivan’s furry wolf friend, to Baba Yaga’s piny woods. Readers will admire the exotic palaces, flying animals and unnerving fiends that Spirin has created.

Firebird by Rachel Isadora, 1994.

Isadora is a former ballerina, and her inspiration for this picture book is George Balanchine’s version of the ballet. Therefore, her Firebird is described as half woman, half bird and is drawn as a dancer. In this story, Prince Ivan hunts in the forest for a magical tree with golden fruit. There he sees the Firebird and catches her, but, realizing that she is terrified, he releases her in pity. To reward him, she gives him one of her feathers as a magic charm. She later aids him when he fights the evil sorcerer, Katschei, to free ten beautiful princesses.

Isadora’s characters literally dance across the pages of her dreamlike and magical Firebird. Each scene is awash with layers of color. A snowy vision of Ivan’s palace shows a sky of blues, purple, pink and white, also reflected in the snow scape below. The Firebird leaps through the sky in a swirl of crimson tutu into a magical garden spilling over with jewel-colored flowers. Pale green skinned demons cavort with Katschei over elongated flames. Isadora’s illustrations are a feast of color and movement.


 Firebird by Demi, 1994.

Demi uses Arthur Ransome’s Old Peter’s Russian Tales (1916) as a basis for her picture book The Firebird. Dimitri is an archer in service to the Tsar, and one day he happens upon the feather of the shining bird. Against the advice of his Horse of Power, he takes the feather to the Tsar, who coerces him with death threats to capture her and then, once he is successful, to bring the fairy princess Vassilissa back to be the ruler’s bride. This backfires when the princess and the archer fall in love, and Dimitri must complete impossible tasks involving a golden casket under the sea, a giant lobster and a cauldron of boiling water. Was the Horse of Power right? Will the Tsar be vanquished? Will true love triumph?

Sumptuously illustrated, Demi’s Firebird contains my favorite depiction of the Firebird herself. On the title page, she is wrapped around the font, gazing at her name. Demi has made her blaze with red, yellow and gold feathers that end in eyes like a peacock’s tail. The book teams with creatures, from the many birds, rabbits, squirrels and deer that join Ivan in the forest, to the fabulous animal motifs that appear in the palace roof, flags and gates. The marvelous lobster is lavender with gilded designs and bright orange feelers. With these visual highlights and the unusual twists in the storyline, Demi’s story will reward interested readers.

 The Golden Mare, the Firebird and the Magic Ring retold by Ruth Sanderson, 2001.


With a few minor variations, this book follows the plot in Demi’s version above. Hero Alexi’s compassion for the Firebird, Yelena the fair and even the foolish Tsar is emphasized.

Sanderson is widely recognized for her fairy tale illustrations and the beauty of these is apparent from the cover, which blends sunset colors with the juxtaposition of the glowing orange Firebird with the golden horse and the falling sun over water.


 Firebird by Jane Yolen, Illus. By Vladimir Vagin, 2002.

Yolen’s version is based on both the folktale and the Balanchine/Stravinsky ballet. Prince Ivan, lost in the forest of the wizard Kostchei the Deathless, finds and releases the Firebird for the promise of her continuing help. Next, he finds ten captured maidens, plus stone statues of noble men enchanted by the wizard. With the aid of the Firebird, Ivan must fight demons and slay Kostchei the Deathless in order to free the captives and win his bride.

Vagin pays homage to the Firebird’s folktale and ballet roots by giving readers the action for both. The upper ¾ s of each page lets the folktale unfold, and the remainder shows us the ballet as it would appear on stage. His Firebird fowl is a marvelous bird of yellow, green and red with wings in layers of red, pink, yellow and blue, and his ballerina Firebird wears a matching headdress and skirt of streaming red feathers. Hairy, horned and cloven hoofed demons attack Ivan in the top frame while in the ballet, costumed dancers complete with pointy beards and long noses jump around Ivan, who gazes intently at the Firebird’s feather. Readers will enjoy comparing the doings of two interpretations in one book.

I Know-Not-What, I-Know-Not-Where: a Russian Tale

I-Know-Not-What, I-Know-Not-Where: A Russian Tale adapted by Eric Kimmel, Illus. by Robert Sauber, 1994.


Kimmel retells this story from Russian Tales and Legends by Charles Downing (1957) in a beautifully illustrated, sixty three page chapter book. Many familiar motifs appear, such as a flying ship, a golden egg, and a giant’s treasure, as well as our favorite fearsome witch, Baba Yaga, who in this story  is a loving grandmother. The tale begins when Frol decides to serve the czar’s army to save his married older and sickly younger brothers the burden. Out in the world, he befriends a magical storytelling dove, Frolya, who concocts a plan for him to catch the czar’s eye. Unfortunately, the ruler desires the lovely bird himself, and his unscrupulous minister Bakbul Bakbulich and his wife keep coming up with plots to be rid of Frol. Accordingly, a wondrous tale unfolds from imps tormenting the spirit of the czar’s father to Kot Buyan, an enormous, unfriendly talking cat to an invisible servant named Nobody, who helps Frol triumph and save his beloved Frolya.

The tale is illustrated with eight color plates by Robert Sauber. He easily covers the range between frightening: Frol’s confrontation with Kot Buyan, a gigantic, fierce looking black cat with wicked claws, and tender: Frol with his new czarina, dressed in splendid costume and looking at each other lovingly. Another fine illustration shows Frol’s thoughts of war, with him holding a sword and a club in his hands. The club seems to billow into black smoke on a battlefield while Frolya, dressed in white, covers her ears against the vision. Sauber makes details pop, such as the purple feather in Bakbulich’s hat against an orange sky, a sparkle of enchanted light around the little white dove and a huge and menacing black spider in the gable of Baba Yaga’s house.

Language of Birds folktale

The Language of Birds by Rafe Martin, Illus. By Susan Gaber, 2000.


In an author’s note after the story, Martin explains that he found this skazki (folktale) in Russian Wonder Tales (Post Wheeler, 1912). In it, two brothers are sent into the world by their father with ten gold coins each. They are to return to him in a week and show what they have done with their money. The oldest, Vasilii, squanders his money at the fair. Younger brother Ivan doesn’t spend his coin, but uses the week learning the language of birds. This enrages his father and amuses Vasilii. Eventually, though, Ivan’s new gift pays off when he saves a ship from a storm and pirates and outdoes his brother at ridding the Czar’s yard of crows. The Czar’s daughter falls for him and he marries her, becoming a prince. And who told the narrator such a story? A little bird that flew to his window.

This is another picture book with outstanding art. The cover is striking, with a side profile of Ivan overlapped by a black bird. It is positioned so that the bird’s blue eye is where Ivan’s would also be. The result is that Ivan looks like he is wearing a carnival mask. Inside, dramatic scenes unfold, like the ship tossed by black cresting water under a lightning torn sky or a dark spiral of crows flying around the Czar’s palace. Gaber uses rich colors creating emerald seas, brilliant red skies and the burnished bronze walls in Ivan’s father’s home. Each picture is bordered in black with a bird related design, such as feathers or tracks.