The Twelve Months - Hardcover

Martin, Rafe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0773732497 ISBN 13: 9780773732490

Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd, 2000

Synopsis

"Sew, Marushka! Weave, Marushka. Chop the wood! Milk the cows! Cut the hay and stack it -- Marushka!"

The poor girl. No matter what she does or how hard she tries, Marushka can never please her cruel aunt and cousin. Determined to be rid of her, they give Marushka three impossible tasks. She must bring them fresh violets, strawberries, and apples in the dead of winter or be cast out of their home for good!
Lost and freezing, Marushka is without hope. Then she meets the twelve months of the year seated around a fire on the mountaintop. With their kind help, the impossible becomes possible. Without it? Well . . . as Marushkas greedy relatives are about to discover, thats another story.
Rafe Martin and Vladyana Langer Krykorka give this timeless Slavic tale a delightful new twist.

About this title

About the Author

Rafe Martin is the author of over 20 books and the recipient of three American Library Association Notable Book Awards, Four Parent's Choice Gold Awards, two Anne Izard Storyteller's Choice Awards, an American Folklore Society Aesop's Accolade Award, several American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists," an IRA Teacher's Choice Award and many other awards of Distinction. Rafe has a Master's degree in English literature from the University of Toronto.
Vladyana was born and raised in Prague, Czech Republic. After graduating from Art High School, she studied Architecture at University of Prague. In 1968 she came to Canada and has lived in Toronto ever since. She has received extensive praise and many honours: winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award, named a Canadian Library Association Notable Book, short-listed for the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibson Award for Book Illustration and included on the AEZOP Accolade List.

Reviews

Gr 1-5-A retelling of a Slavic folktale. Marushka, an orphan, does all the household tasks. No matter how hard she works, it is never enough to please her hard-hearted aunt and cousin. As the young woman finds pleasure in her burdensome work, her beauty increases. The jealous aunt and cousin plot to get rid of her, sending her off in the dead of winter, first to find violets, then strawberries, and then apples. Alone in the forest, Marushka climbs to the top of the mountain and discovers 12 men, representing the months of the year, seated around a fire. Sympathetic to her plight, January briefly changes places with the month that will enable her to complete her task. The author does not provide his sources for the tale or information on its roots or variants. This version ends with a surprise: the small dog that appears in the illustrations is the narrator of the story, a twist that seems unnecessary for the well-told folktale. The framed paintings with captions contribute to the traditional tone of the story. The bluish hues and curving, lacy bare branches are effective in creating a sense of the cold, mysterious world. A good addition to folktale collections.

Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Following his successful The Rough-Face Girl, a retelling of a Native-American Cinderella story, Rafe Martin introduces The Twelve Months, illus. by Vladyana Langer Krykorka, a Slavic Cinderella tale. Here there is no prince, but the 12 months play the part of the fairy godmother to Marushka, returning once a year to help celebrate the harvest. The artwork evokes the rustic setting and, as the 12 months work their magic, the illustrations light up with yellows and golds, and the characters' faces reveal wonderment.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. In this picture book for older children, the orphan Marushka lives with her aunt and cousin, who are envious of her sweet nature. They plot to rid themselves of her by requesting, in the dead of winter, that she bring them violets. On her quest, Marushka makes her way to the mountaintop, where she finds twelve men: three old, three middle-aged, three young, and three who are still boys. Warming herself by their fire, she tells them her plight. The men, who represent the twelve months, enable Marushka to bring violets (and later strawberries and apples) to her aunt and cousin. Of course, the venal relatives eventually want more, and they trundle off to the mountaintop, never to be heard from again. Krykorka contributes a series of dreamy illustrations (one facing each page of text), which are filled with the swirl of snow, wind, and branches and the movement of Marushka's streaming hair and suppliant gestures. This Slavic variant of the Cinderella story will please readers with its good-hearted heroine. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0773732497
• ISBN 13: 9780773732490
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Krykorka Vladyana
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32