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Review by Joanne Peters
CM: Canadian Review of Materials Volume XXVII, No. 24 https://www.cmreviews.ca/node/2127 Excerpt: Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures is a compilation of four books, three of which, Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Christmas; Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Easter and Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Wedding, have been previously reviewed in CM. The fourth title, Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Journey, is new and will be the principal focus of this review. [...] In Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures, Marion Mutala traces Baba’s life story from girlhood to adulthood, connecting it with Natalia’s learning of and understanding the source of the Ukrainian traditions which are an important part of her life. The series is stronger for having all four stories in one collection. Rather unusual for a series, three different artists have illustrated the stories, and, in A Magical Ukrainian Journey, Olha Tkachenko’s illustrations are soft but colourful. In all four stories, the full-colour illustrations face each page of text which is bordered by a geometric Ukrainian embroidery motif, and, unlike the previous three books, this collected volume is paginated and sturdily bound. As with the previous three releases, there’s a “Glossary” and pronunciation guide for those readers with minimal knowledge of Ukrainian. A special recipe or two follows the ending of each of the four stories, and this book is no exception. Baba and Dido’s homecoming would have been a very special event for their Ukrainian relatives, and perhaps Baba Sophia would have enjoyed a torte for which her recipe is included. While boys also feel great warmth and love for their babas (and didos), Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures is likely to be read and enjoyed by girls. The book is definitely a worthwhile acquisition for elementary school libraries and resource collections in schools which offer Ukrainian language programing and for public libraries serving communities with significant Ukrainian-Canadian populations. Highly Recommended Reviewer: Joanne Peters is a retired teacher-librarian living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 Territory and Homeland of the Métis People Comments are closed.
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