The Magic Babushka by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes is an engaging tale on many levels- sensory experiences, Russian culture, folk arts, and virtues. All three loved it so much that babushkas snuggled into the order of the day.
Reading it aloud entertained all of us, since there are a number of tongue twisters that might not be so cumbersome for Russian-seasoned tongues but certainly sounded a little disjointed coming from mine.
A collage I made from illustrations.
The illustrations convey the Russian village folk culture, costumes, and even the embroidery patterns. Nadia, a young peasant girl, sweeps the dirt outside their wooden hut, or isba.
Nadia's pysanky, or painted Easter eggs decorated using dyes and wax, require artisanship and skill. Pysanky comes from the Ukranian word meaning "to write". The designs are written on an egg with a tool called a stylus, which is filled with hot beeswax. The wax is used in the same way that crayons are used when doing crayon or wax resist with paints. If you'd like to try an egg-painting craft, my favorite online tutorials so far include:
Wax painted eggs with Counting Coconuts
Romanian painted eggs with Poppy Gall
The authoritative Learning Pysanky website
And for those who desire a hardcore challenge, Arlene's Ukranian egg painting how-to
Since Nadia's kindness to a butterfly plays an important role in the story, we tried to tie butterflies out of our babushkas using the model in the book.
