The Flying Witch - Hardcover

Yolen, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060285362 ISBN 13: 9780060285364

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003

Synopsis

Whirr. Whirr.
Clunkety-clank
Here comes Baba Yaga!

Flying her mortar and pestle, the witch with the long iron nose scours the countryside for plump young children to eat. But will she be a match for the fiesty little girl she hopes to throw into her soup? New York Times best-selling author Jane Yolen has created a clever, original story based on hundreds of traditional Russian folktales about the famed scary old witch.

Vladimir Vagin's remarkably detailed borders and intricate scenes will give readers chills and laughs as they read this witty tale.

About this title

About the Author

Jane Yolen is one of the acknowledged masters of fantasy today. She is the author of more than two hundred books for children and adults. Her young adult novel The Devil's Arhtmetic won the Jewish Book Council Award. Her children's book Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr, was awarded the Caldecott Medal; her fantasy novels Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna were both short-listed for the Nebula; and she's won the Nebula twice for short stories. She has also won the World Fantasy Award, the Christopher Medal twice, and the Golden Kite Award. She has written two previous books in the Young Heroes series with Robert J. Harris, Odysseus in the Serpent Maze and Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons. Jane Yolen lives with her husband in western Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-"Whirrr. Whirr. Clunkety-clank." Baba Yaga flies across a moonlit sky over a verdant forest in her mortar and pestle, and readers can almost hear the whistling and shrieking of the wind as she slices through it. Yolen's vivid writing reflects the flavor of the original tales and comes alive with repetition of key phrases throughout the text. The author wisely injects humor to lighten up her version of the witch who scours the forest while seeking children to eat and thus provides a refreshingly original twist to the tale. She invents a fast-thinking heroine who uses her wits to defeat the witch, even spoon-feeding her at the end. Vagin's illustrations highlight the humor in the text. For instance, Baba Yaga flies upside down with garlic cloves and herbs tumbling from her pockets; and her nose is comically painted as a sharply pointed piece of steel-gray iron. Dappled sunlight on many pages and an especially lovely pastel-colored rainbow in the capture scene complement the mood and ending of the story. Detailed source notes appear on the last page. Use this tale with William Steig's Shrek! (Farrar, 1993) for a deliciously amusing romp with funny, spooky stories.
James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0060285362
• ISBN 13: 9780060285364
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Vagin Vladimir