about the book
Masha’s dad, too wrapped up in his study of plants and soil, has ignored her since her mother’s death years ago. Now he tells Masha that he proposed to Jenny, a master gardener. All she knows about the woman is that she has a bratty daughter, Daniella, who doesn’t want a new sister either. Masha’s beloved grandmother, who recently passed away, told her stories full of evil stepmothers and stepsisters. Masha definitely doesn’t want or need a “new mother.”
This is no Cinderella fairy godmother story! This is a moody, creepy modern day tale about the Russian folklore icon Baba Yaga, a mean ugly old crone with iron teeth who steals children, pets, and chickens. The witch is searching for a new assistant…but first the applicant must pass several difficult, scary tests!
Masha has heard the terrifying stories about Baba Yaga, but she’s not scared off. The ad says: “ASSISTANT WANTED ASAP: Must have skills in hauling, obeying orders, cooking and cleaning. Magical talent a bonus. Must be good with heights. Enter Baba Yaga’s house to apply.” Masha’s grandma had taught her that magic is fickle and that nothing is too difficult or to dirty to clean. Besides, Masha thinks, nothing can be as bad as her situation at home!
So Masha runs away to the forest full of nasty beasties and Baba Yaga magical chicken-legged house. Her first trial is just getting in the door of the unusual abode. She finally outwits the magical house with sweet talk!
The next tests are far more difficult. She battles a territorial bear, bathes a closet full of snakes, makes dinner (no easy task when children are on the menu), and contends with powdered eels, drowned maiden’s hair, and harpy feathers. She discovers that in Baba Yaga’s home, deceit is the rule.
Not only does Masha have to pass the witch’s tests and tricks, she has to figure a way to outsmart the sarcastic enigmatic witch at her own game!
about the author
Marika McCoola was brought up in Glen Falls, New York, in a house full of drawing paper, paintbrushes, and other art supplies. Though her mother (an artist) and her father (an architect) were very supportive of Marika’s creative endeavors, she started reading and writing much later than most children. But when she did get the hang of it, she could read frontwards and backwards and write with either hand!
She studied art history, ceramics, illustration, and creative writing at the Maryland Institute College of Art and earned a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing for Children from Simmons College.
Marika first heard the stories of BabaYaga as a child from her Polish grandmother. Inspiration for Marika’s debut graphic novel, Baba Yaga’s Assistant, just popped into her head as an image of Baba Yaga in a contemporary setting, which became the first two-page spread in the book. Amazingly, after that image struck, Marika wrote the entire first draft of the graphic novel in just two weeks, while working full time! Everything just fell right into place. She loves folklore and mythology and you can find references to both in most of her writing. She also loves to hide little secrets in the text!
When she’s not writing and illustrating, Marika is a full-time educator. She teaches studio art, illustration, and children’s literature online for the State University of New York (SUNY), teaches children’s art classes for the Umbrella Community Arts Center in Concord, works at the Porter Square bookstore in Cambridge, and runs a book club for Miranda’s Hearth, a community arts organization.
In addition, her bio says that “When not in danger of being squashed by books, Marika may be found skiing or contra dancing.”
Sources:
Author website
Article on author: Chronicle
Article on author: Boston Globe
Author interview: YouTube
about the illustrator
Emily Carroll likes to write and draw scary stuff. When she was a kid, her favorite stories were the ones that creeped her out the most! She happened to stumble on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and In a Dark, Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz, books that were often banned from libraries because of the extremely disturbing illustrations. When she got older and reread them, Emily found that the writing, the language, and the simplicity of the tales made them so frightening for her. She became determined to write in the same way.
Emily admits she is a fussy artist. To get her collage effect, she draws the elements of each panel separately and then arranges and colors it on the computer. She also does all the lettering by hand, which is time consuming, a lot of work, and most often frustrating!
Since this comic artist never did and still does not draw superheroes like most illustrators, it took her a long time to publish her work. “I didn’t imagine that anyone would be interested in things that I was making up, let alone pay me to do them!”
Emily was born in June of 1983 and grew up in London, Ontario, Canada. After graduating from Sheridan College’s Classical Animation program, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, to work. Now she is back in Ontario, living in Stratford with her wife, Kate Craig, and their big orange kitty.
Sources:
Author/illustrator website
Book/author profile : Amazon
Author interview : The Thought Fox
Author interview & photo : National Post
Also illustrated by Emily Carroll:
Through the Woods. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2014.
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