Vasilisa the Beautiful: A Russian Folktale

by Anna Morgunova, Anna Morgunova (Illustrator), Anthea Bell (Translator)

Overview

Winner of:
2015 19th Annual Wilde Awards, Picture Books, Ages 7 to 10

A modern retelling of a classic folk tale brought to life through vivid, rich artwork
 
When Vasilisa’s mother dies, she leaves behind a magical doll to look after Vasilisa in times of distress. And distress is close at hand when Vasilisa’s father remarries, and her new stepmother and stepsisters send her on an errand to the terrifying witch Baba Yaga, who has an appetite for anything that enters the deep, dark forest. But with her fearlessness and her magical doll, Vasilisa not only passes Baba Yaga’s arduous tests, but she also obtains the magic she needs to free herself from a life of servitude. This enchanting retelling of a classic Russian folk tale is brought to spectacular life by Anna Morgunova’s breathtaking art.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789888240500
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	12/15/2015
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.81(w) x 10.81(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Anna Morgunova is an award-winning children’s book illustrator. Anthea Bell is an award-winning translator who has translated numerous Cornelia Funke novels and many Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen stories, including The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Snow Queen.

Editorial Reviews

…[this] new version of Vasilisa the Beautiful seems to stand apart from the glut of [fairy tale] retellings by choosing not to revise at all…Morgunova's illustrations hint at a rich inner life beneath the surface. With each image set askew, often superimposed against a starry sky, the effect is to emphasize all the characters' powerlessness in Baba Yaga's great forest. Vasilisa is always falling, reeling or sprawling; birds and fish dwarf humans in their size; and even Baba Yaga herself never fully appears, drawn only as feathers and fog, as if she's half Mother Earth and half Zen harpy. The art, so timeless and raw, offers a charged dream-life that suggests the primal nerve Vasilisa's story strikes in Morgunova is far stronger than the lure of revisionism.

The New York Times Book Review - Soman Chainani

"The art, so timeless and raw, offers a charged dream-life that suggests the primal nerve Vasilisa’s story strikes in Morgunova is far stronger than the lure of revisionism." —Soman Chainani, New York Times

"Bell's retelling is classical as she recounts the Russian fairy tale heroine who conquers the terrifying Baba Yaga with the help of her magical doll. Anna Morgunova's illustrations strengthen the story with image, symbolism and mood." —Susie Wilde, Charlotte News & Observer

"The Russian tale of Vasilisa and Baba Yaga, reillustrated for a new generation . . . . mesmerizing illustrations . . . Older children and art students will respond warmly." —Kirkus Reviews

"A clever, refreshing retelling of this Russian folktale that is magically illustrated, this selection is pure delight." —Kendal Rautzham, readingeagle.com

"A fine translation by Anthea Bell, gorgeously illustrated by Anna Morgunova with full-page panels that burst with tomato reds, piney greens, cobalt and cerulean blues, gold and saffron . . . I am hoping that this new edition will serve for the children in my life (and for any other child who discovers it) as a gateway tale that lures them into the borderless lands of fiction." —Liesl Schillinger, barnesandnoble.com/review

"This retelling of Vasilisa’s adventure takes a dreamlike turn with Morgunova’s eye-grabbing swirls of color . . . . complementing Morgunova’s beautiful but surreal illustrations . . . . will satisfy the more sophisticated taste." —Nancy Call, School Library Journal

"A clever, refreshing retelling of this Russian folktale that is magically illustrated . . . . pure delight." —Kendal Rautzhan, Books to Borrow, Books to Buy

From the Publisher

This retelling of the Cinderella was collected by 19th century Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasyev. In this classic Russian version, a beautiful servant girl, Vasilla, whose mother has died and father has gone out into the world, is mistreated by her stepmother and jealous stepsisters. However, her mother had the foresight to leave her a doll with the power to protect her for as long as Vasilla feeds her. When the stepfamily’s house suffers a sort of power outage, Vasilla goes into the forest to retrieve a fiery skull from the evil witch, Baba Yaga. There she is enslaved by the witch but repeatedly saved by her doll. The greatest change is in the representation of Baba Yaga, not as a hook-nosed harridan, but as a feathered nature spirit who may take the shape of a raven but is definitely not the hag of Russian tradition. While the witch’s steering pestle appears as a walking stick in one picture, her famous modes of transportation, her pestle, is nowhere to be seen. Award-winning illustrator, Anna Morgunova, incorporated illustrations that use a high definition color technique to capture a wider range of hues in a modern, and more detailed, graphic style. Star or flower-filled margins frame each extraordinarily detailed illustration of Vasila’s adventure. Vasila finds her true fate as wife of the tsar, by weaving diaphanous cloth for the king. While true to its grizzly sources, it is the vibrant, complex and contemporary illustrations, that will make this a necessary purchase for folktale collections. Reviewer: Lois Rubin Gross; Ages 5 to 10.

Children's Literature - Lois Rubin Gross

01/01/2016
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.—Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA

School Library Journal

2015-12-08
The Russian tale of Vasilisa and Baba Yaga, reillustrated for a new generation. The folk tale is familiar to many, in itself and for its echoes of "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and even "Rumpelstiltskin." It's complex in structure and a little awkward in this translation, but mesmerizing illustrations carry the thread wholly to its lovely conclusion. Vasilisa's dying mother gives her a little doll to protect her, and she needs it, as her stepmother and stepsisters work her cruelly. When they force Vasilisa to retrieve light from the fearsome Baba Yaga, the doll helps her to perform all the tasks Baba Yaga sets her to, and the light given her (a skull with blazing eye sockets) also destroys the evil stepfamily. Vasilisa takes refuge with an old woman, weaves linen so fine only the czar deserves it, and he, of course, falls in love with its weaver at once. The pictures are layered in patterns clearly inspired by Klimt, Chagall, and the spirit of surrealism, full of stars and birds and the colors of Russian lacquered boxes. The text weaves in Russian proverbs: "morning is wiser than evening." The figure of Baba Yaga is both gorgeous and terrifying: half woman, half bird, all magical. Older children and art students will respond warmly. (Picture book/folk tale. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews