Synopsis
Tatia knows she should follow her dying mother's advice and stay away fromGrandma Chickenlegs. But when her cruel stepmother orders her to visit the old witch, Tatia must obey. Bravely, she sets out through the woods, with her dear doll, Drooga, as her only companion. Once inside the witch's cottage--a rickety shack that stands on chicken leg--Tatia is guarded by the witch's dog, cat, and a magic elm tree.Grandma Chickenlegs clearly has terrible plans for her. To escape the witch, Tatia must be courageous and clever, and she must rely on the kindness of friends. Moira Kemp's dramatic illustrations, sensitive and funny, make this a classic picture book to be treasured by readers of all ages.
Publishers Weekly
This spirited retelling of a classic Russian folktale about the witch Baba Yaga fairly vibrates with vigorous images. A heartless stepmother who has "eyes as sharp as needles and a soul as thin as a thread" orders sweet Tatia to borrow a needle from Grandma Chickenlegs, certain she is sending Tatia to her death. But through kindness and a little magic, Tatia escapes Grandma Chickenlegs's fearsome clutches. McCaughrean's (The Golden Hoard) language is refreshingly original. The witch's front door, for example, "swung on its hinges, squealing like a thing in pain"; the house itself is a "rickety-rackety shack" that runs around the garden atop "four scratching, paltry poultry legs." Kemp's (the Helpful Betty books) colored pencil illustrations skate perilously close to garish in places and don't live up to the promise of the cover art--a wonderfully outrageous image in shades of orange and chartreuse of two scrawny legs encased in striped stockings and a pair of flagrantly ugly lace-up shoes. But the interior art, too, is larded with witty touches: Grandma's iron-fanged dentures sit in a cup on the nightstand, fabric on her loom bears a broom motif, a chimney cap takes the shape of a witch's hat. Rollicking fun from start to finish. Ages 5-8. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.