The Magic Babushka

by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes

Nadia longs to create beautifully decorated Easter eggs, called pysanky, but the intricate patterns are too difficult for her weak eyes. When she rescues a magical old woman, she is rewarded with a handkerchief that makes her imagined designs real. Now Nadia can create pysanky, but how can she prove to an angry tsarina that the designs are her own?

Genres: Fantasy, Russia, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young girl growing up in Russia is sad because her poor eyesight won't allow her to create the beautiful pysanky (easter eggs) she dreams of making. One day, she rescues a butterfly that is trapped in a spider's web, only to find it's actually the Baba Babochka (Butterfly Woman), who grants her a wish in return for her kindness.
I found it similar to Rumpelstiltskin in a lot of ways.

I really liked this story. It's a very traditional fairy tale in many ways, and I loved how much of Russian/Ukrainian culture shone through in the story. The illustrations are really lovely as well. Even some of the little animations on the website, like the scene where Nadia (MC) is locked in the tower, and you can watch the moon set and the sun rise out the window. The last pages were my favourites, though. The animations were nice, but I love the illustrations themselves, especially all the detail put into the costumes.


Read on the Reading Rainbow App/Website.

[RachelvlehcaR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadia loves pysanky, beautifully decorated Easter eggs. She wants to make them but it takes patience, skills, and good eye sight. She has two but suffers from poor eye sight. She dreams of making pysanky and dreams up beautiful designs. I enjoyed this book because I have an appreciation for Russian art work and pysanky art is amazing. This is a great book from culture awareness, art, and the illustrations are colorful.

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful illustrations are the drawcard of this book, which is pitched as "An Original Russian Tale". The main character is Nadia, a gentle, farsighted peasant girl who longs to be able to draw the pysanky (colorfully patterned eggs) that she imagines in her mind but cannot see well enough to create. She loves nature and, when she rescues a butterfly from a spiderweb, the butterfly turns out to be the legendary Baba Babochka, who gives her the gift of a wish. It was a good original fairy tale. I enjoyed the characters, and particularly enjoyed the illustrations.

[Marge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story for the Easter season. Fabulous illustrations