Baba Yaga and the Wise Doll, Orem Hiawyn, illus Ruth Brown

Baba Yaga and the Wise Doll, Orem Hiawyn, illus Ruth Brown.

ISBN - 978-0525459477

(re-read) August 9, 2013

Ran across this one again while researching juv 398s for rusalkas, and wanted to draw some attention to it because of how marvelously witchy and gruesome Baba Yaga is.  I still like the story/illustrations combo better in Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, but the illustrations in this one are just creepy-perfect.

Gender-unclear (meant, I'm sure, to be female, but in clothes and with a haircut that make that somewhat ambiguous) Too Nice lives with equally unclear siblings: Horrid and Very Horrid.  Their faces make their names quite clear.  One day, the Horrids have had enough of Too Nice, so they kick Too Nice out of the house to fetch them a jeweled toad from Baba Yaga. 

Not to fear, Too Nice has a mother's poppet, a wise doll that aids in the work.  What I like about this rendition is two-fold:  First, unlike a lot of versions of this story, Too Nice actually begins the work and works hard all day before despairing of the magnitude of the task and calling in the doll for backup.  Secondly, the illustrations are brilliant in showing how the doll is helping.  Too Nice is passed out exhausted, with the doll still in arms, but look to the shadows to see what's really going on.  Brilliant idea, beautiful execution.

And Baba Yaga - Oh My God.  She is one scary witch.  She puts all those Disney witches to SHAME.  She's all grey except for her "glowing red eyes" which aren't actually red, but rheumy and yellowish and tiny and mean.  She's tall and overwhelming and PERFECT.  I love her.  She's my new favoritest witch ever.   

The final change I like to the basic story structure is that instead of bringing home a skull-lamp that burns the nasty family to cinders instantly (PTSD anyone?) Too Nice brings back one of the huge jeweled toads, just as they asked, and it snaps them up and they're gone, then the toad hops back over to Baba Yaga's chicken-legged house.  Now, I don't know WHY it seems to me that having a giant bejewelled toad eat your siblings seems much less traumatic to me than having them burned to death by a skull-lamp, but there it is. 

Actually, I lied - there's one more difference I appreciated.  The story wisely stops there with Too Nice becoming Little Just About Right - instead of dragging on into odd unrelated widows and weaving and marrying of kings, also, incidentally, keeping that subtle bit of gender neutrality that I really appreciate.

Perfect.