Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave

Title: Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
As Told By : Mayer, Marianna
Illustrator: Craft, K.Y.
Publisher: Morrow Junior Books, 1994
Genre: Picture Book, Traditional Literature, Cinderella Tale
Age Range: 3rd grade and up

Summary: This picture book is the Russian Cinderella. Vasilisa is the "cinderella" of this story. After her mother dies, her step mother only adores her other two sisters. The only comfort Vasilisa finds is in the doll her mother made and gave her before she died. She told Vasilisa, "if you are ever in need, this doll will comfort you." And the doll did. Vasilisa gets treated very badly. When the step mother puts a spell on the house and makes all of the candles go out, Vasilisa is sent to Baba Yaga house for a candle. Baba Yaga is a horrific woman whose house is made out of real skeleton bones. Noone who ever visits returns. That is just what the step-mother wants. Once Vasilisa gets to Baba Yaga's, Baba Yaga tells her to clean her house, seperate the wheat, and make her a feast. If all of these things are done, then she will be happy. Vasilisa gets help from doll (her mother's love) and completes everything. This continues for another night. Baba Yaga sends Vasilisa safetly home with a skull lamp and makes Vasilisa give it to her step mother. When Vasilisa passes it over, it burns the step mother and the two sisters up! Vasilisa found a woman who "adopted" her. At her home, she spun thread. The woman thought it was the most beautiful thread ever, so she took it to the royal tzar. He loved it so much he sent for the woman who made it, Vasilisa. He asked her to marry him. She never did forget about her little doll, that helped her through it all.

Response: I really enjoyed this version of Cinderella. It is certainly different from anything I have read before. I could tell that the pictures were very "Russian." I looked up Baba Yaga and learned that she is more than a witch that appears in this story. Instead, she is a well known witch in Russia that punishes but rewards those who are pure of heart. This is exactly what she did with Vasilisa. One of my favorite aspects of this story is the doll Vasilisa's mom made her. It helped her through so many things and she never forgot about it. What a special gift it must have been. I also liked how Vasilisa wasn't looking for a prince. It just happened. I think that made this story special. I liked how in the end, she was a princess by chance.

Teaching Ideas: I think this is a perfect version of Cinderella to use in the high school classroom. It is complex enough to where there are lots of things to pick out, but still sticks to the standard traditional tale schema. I would love to do a Cinderella lesson in my classroom. I know I talked to Dr. Frye about it and she suggested "Chinese Cinderella" and "Baba Yaga and Vasilisa" together. Why couldn't I do this? She also sent me this website that talks about Cinderella in the highschool classroom. Thank you Dr. Frye!

--jeana