About the Author

Patricia Polacco(www.patriciapolacco.com) is the belovedNew York Timesbestselling author and illustrator of over fifty picture books. She visits as many as two hundred classrooms in a single year, not only speaking but listening to the hundreds of children that she meets. Grateful for what teachers have done for her, she is also a popular keynote speaker celebrating teachers everywhere. She lives in Union City, Michigan, where she enjoys speaking to the myriad children who come to visit her and the famous meteor, the object of one of Patricia's best-known stories.

Reviews

"Sumptuous colors, a rich melange of patterns and textures--and even a sprinkling of forest fairies." --Publishers Weekly

"A warm, lively tale, neatly mixing new and old and illustrated with Polacco's usual energetic action, bright folk patterns, and affectionate characterizations." --Kirkus Reviews

"Kids will respond to the joyful story of the outsider who gets to join in, and Polacco's richly patterned paintings of Russian peasant life on the edge of the woods are full of light and color." --Booklist

"The underlying message of tolerance is well presented, and the author does an admirable job of melding the two contrasting grandmother images from Russian culture." --School Library Journal

Living alone in the forest, Baba Yaga watches longingly as the babushkas of the village care for their grandchildren. Snatching an outfit off a clothesline, the wizened, long-eared creature disguises herself as one of the village grandmothers and goes in search of a child to love. She finds the cherubic Victor, whose mother needs someone to watch him while she works. Baba Yaga savors her new life, until one day she overhears the other babushkas speaking hatefully of the legendary Baba Yaga. Greatly saddened, she decides to return to her home in the woods before Victor discovers her true identity. Polacco's soothing version of this Russian folktale ends happily: Baba Yaga saves her beloved charge from a pack of vicious wolves and earns the babushkas' praise and acceptance. The art features Polacco's ( Rechenka's Eggs ) trademark sumptuous colors, a rich melange of patterns and textures--and even a sprinkling of forest fairies. Such visual dimension, coupled with her direct yet resonant narrative, marks this as another of Polacco's winning picture books. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

"Sumptuous colors, a rich melange of patterns and textures--and even a sprinkling of forest fairies." --Publishers Weekly

"A warm, lively tale, neatly mixing new and old and illustrated with Polacco's usual energetic action, bright folk patterns, and affectionate characterizations." --Kirkus Reviews

"Kids will respond to the joyful story of the outsider who gets to join in, and Polacco's richly patterned paintings of Russian peasant life on the edge of the woods are full of light and color." --Booklist

"The underlying message of tolerance is well presented, and the author does an admirable job of melding the two contrasting grandmother images from Russian culture." --School Library Journal