School Library Journal Starred Review

K-Gr 3-Wishing to be like the people she watches from the woods, Baba Yaga dresses herself in human clothing and covers her elfin ears with a scarf. Resembling any other grandmother or babushka, she is welcomed into the home of a young mother and quickly assumes the care of a child named Victor. She grows to love the boy, but when the other old women tell terrifying stories of the witch Baba Yaga, she returns to the woods with a heavy heart. Missing her, Victor wanders into the woods and is threatened by ferocious wolves. Coming to his rescue, Baba Yaga is finally accepted by the babushkas who realize that, ``Those who judge one another on what they hear or see, and not what they know of them in their hearts, are fools indeed!'' Polacco's reassuring text is accompanied by her full-page illustrations drawn in a casual, relaxed style in a variety of mediums: markers, charcoal pencil, chalk pastel, and gouache. The underlying message of tolerance is well presented, and the author does an admirable job of melding the two contrasting grandmother images from Russian culture. While her depiction of the misunderstood creature may surprise serious students of folklore, those wanting to share a kinder, gentler Baba Yaga will welcome this picture book.-Denise Anton Wright, Illinois State University, Normal

ALA Booklist (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 1993)

The Russian monster Baba Yaga (Grandmother Witch) is one of the most terrifying monsters in world folklore. She eats children. Hideous and wicked, the hag fences her hut with human bones. Not your usual picture book fare. Polacco guts the story by transforming the monster into a sweet smiling, grandmother Babushka who becomes part of the village domesticity. The nightmare stories are false rumors, it turns out; the witch is really a dear, lonely old lady who wants to be part of the human family and who especially wants a grandchild--to love, not to eat. Kids will respond to the joyful story of the outsider who gets to join in, and Polacco's richly patterned paintings of Russian peasant life on the edge of the woods are full of light and color. But no sentimentality of wondrous tales and eyes brimming with tears can transform Baba Yaga. No neat moral about not believing rumors can tame her. She's there in the dark, in what Virginia Hamilton calls your most secret fearful heart. (Reviewed Aug. 1993)

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1993)

Polacco's Baba Yaga is not the wicked witch the villagers believe her to be but is, instead, a kind creature who wishes to become some child's beloved babushka. When she saves a young boy from wolves, the other grandmothers recognize her as one of their own. A dramatic text and animated artwork re-create Baba Yaga in a tale about love in disguise.

Kirkus Reviews

The premise is promising: Baba Yaga, yearning to have grandchildren like the babushkas she espies near her forest home, disguises herself as one of them (covering her tall, pointy ears) and joins the old women chatting in the square. There, she hears of Natasha, who has no babushka to care for her child; Baba Yaga volunteers and is soon a loving family member—until little Victor is frightened by the other babushkas' tales of fearsome Baba Yaga, and our Baba Yaga retreats once more to her forest. At this point, Polacco resorts to a classic but pat conclusion: Victor, menaced by wolves, is rescued by Baba Yaga, who's then welcomed back: ``Those who judge one another on what they hear or see, and not on what they know of them in their hearts, are fools indeed!'' It's an unfortunate irony that, in countering the image of a bad old witch, Polacco relies on another, equally fallacious symbol—the ravening wolf. Still, even without a more original resolution: a warm, lively tale, neatly mixing new and old and illustrated with Polacco's usual energetic action, bright folk patterns, and affectionate characterizations. (Picture book. 4-8)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This """"direct yet resonant"""" retelling of a Russian folktale has """"sumptuous colors, a rich melange of patterns and textures--and even a sprinkling of forest fairies,"""" said PW. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)