Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola, illustrated by Emily Carroll, 136 pp, RL 4
Baba Yaga's Assistant is the superlative new graphic novel written by Marika McCoola and illustrated by Emily Carroll, who brought us the eerily wonderful graphic Through the Woods. I am a HUGE fan of fairy tales (my secret dream is to get a PhD in fairy tales and write a killer dissertation...) and always excited to see a story that features one of the lesser known (to Americans) characters like Baba Yaga in a story. Most recently, Baba Yaga has appeared in Gregory Maguire's epic Russian fairy tale mash-up, The Egg and the Spoon. Baba Yaga also turns out in Michael Buckley's brilliant Sisters Grimm series and she appears in one of the wonderful Tashi chapter books that are a must read.


Masha also finds that she does indeed have magical talent, passed on to her by Grandma Irina, and this helps her out as well. Baba Yaga herself never feels downright evil (as she appears in other versions of her story) in Baba Yaga's Assistant she is more calculatedly evil from a distance as Masha comes into her own, as an assistant and as a person. In fact, I was occasionally reminded of the excellent graphic novel that came out earlier this year and also features a young lady looking to be assistant to an evil villain, Nimona. What I appreciate most about Baba Yaga's Assistant is McCoola's skill at writing a complex family dynamic that feels familiar to fans of fairy tales (mother dies, evil stepmother and step-siblings arrive) but is also modern. In a few pages, McCoola develops Masha's father, a scientist who studies plants and soil, in a way that feels complete and understandable. In his grief, he has buried himself in his work and left Masha to be loved and comforted by someone better equipped to do those things, her grandmother. Out of his loneliness comes his relationship with Jenny and her daughter and the chance to move forward. While McCoola never makes it seem like Masha is holding her father back from his healing and happiness, she does make Masha's choice at the end of the book wholly believable and positive - a step forward toward finding a new family for Masha as well. McCoola and Carroll also make me yearn VERY MUCH to know more about Masha's story and find out where she and Baba Yaga are headed to as this magnificent story comes to a close...
Source: Review Copy
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