Matreshka

by Rebecca Hickox Ayres, Alexi Natchev (Illustrator)

Receiving Matreshka, a little wooden doll, Kata slips her into her pocket, never realizing the magic of which Matreshka is capable.

Genres: Picture Books, Russia, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

AKA Rebecca Hickox

Reviews

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! I'm familiar with Matreshkas and I've her of Baba Yaga, but I was a little sketchy on her story. My son picked out the book at the library and we read it on the spot. He enjoyed it and asked questions about it afterward. The illustrations are vibrant and perfectly depict the scene. It's a very well written story.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's a cute re-telling of a Russian folktale about nesting dolls. I'm not thrilled with stereotyped images of old ladies who are witches and want to eat little girls, but at least it's a folktale. I'd read to 5 and older. Preschoolers might be scared by the witch.

[Melkor von Moltke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute short little Baba Yaga tale. It wasn't particularly scary for youngsters and the pictures were nice.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the matreshka nesting dolls, and also features baba yaga. We read this as part of our geography/cultures study - Russia. The illustrations were done in an interesting style and the twins enjoyed it.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We've recently discovered the various Baba Yaga stories available from our local library system and we've read several so far, including Baba Yaga: A Russian Folktale, Babushka Baba Yaga, Marushka's Egg, and Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.

This is an interesting tale that shows a young girl surviving Baba Yaga's clutches through the help of a matryoshka doll. The story is somewhat similar to Baba Yaga and the Wise Doll, but certainly is a unique story.

The repetitive refrains from the doll and the spells from the witch are fun to read aloud and we used a prop - a matryoshka doll that I bought in St. Petersburg, Russia so many years ago. It had just the right number of stacked dolls inside to match the story perfectly and our girls were delighted.

The only complaint I had with the story are the names. Kata just seems off to me, so we said Katya throughout the tale instead. And Matreshka also seemed a bit off; I usually say Matryoshka. Still, it was an entertaining tale and we enjoyed reading it together.