Baba Yaga....

BABUSHKA BABA YAGA, by Patricia Polacco
AR Level: 4.4 Points: .5

Baba Yaga, a creature of the forest, is the last of her kind and lives alone. She is sad, because all of her life creatures of her kind have been known as terrible monsters. All of the babushkas (grandmothers) tell horrible stories about Baba Yaga to children. In her heart, all Baba Yaga wants is to love and be loved by a child. One day she sees one of the babushka’s dresses hanging on a clothesline and takes it. She cleans herself up and dresses herself in it and goes into the village where she is welcomed into the home of a single mother and her small child. All is good until the day one of the other babushkas tells the frightening tale of Baba Yaga and scares all of the children. That night, Baba Yaga leaves a note for her young charge and his mother and retreats to the forest. In the end, when the young boy is almost attacked by wolves, Baba Yaga rescues him, he recognizes her, and everyone lives happily ever after. This is a fantastic original folktale—anyone who loves Patricia Polacco will also fall in love with this book.