Finding Baba Yaga Read online

  6. In Chapter Three’s “Evening Meadow,” the narrator reflects: “I am becoming a poet. I am thinking in metaphors. I am walking through a poem.” Do you think this observation foreshadows the narrator’s, or the narrative’s, transition from “real life” to (borrowing a term Ms. Yolen uses in the foreword) “storyland”? What does it suggest to you about how story relates to reality, or the concept of a person’s “life story”?

  7. In Chapter Four, Natasha arrives at Baba Yaga’s “mobile” home. Traditionally, Baba Yaga asks visitors to her hut on chicken legs if they have come to her accidentally or intentionally. Do you think fate or free will brings Natasha to Baba Yaga? Why?

  8. Who do you think Vasilisa (who enters the story in Chapter Five) is to Natasha, literally or symbolically? Why do you think the narrator’s name is revealed so late in the story (in the Chapter Five poem “In Vasilisa’s Bed”), even though Natasha is arguably the protagonist of the piece, rather than the eponymous Baba Yaga?

  9. Why do you think Jane Yolen puts four poems in a row (starting with “Her Cousin’s House of Candy”) in Chapter Six that are all distinctly fairy tale fare? Would you argue that Natasha is in a fairy tale or a nightmare?

  10. How does Prince Ivan’s arrival in Chapter Seven alter the dynamics of the odd little trio Baba Yaga, Natasha, and Vasilisa had “settled into” in Chapter Six?

  11. Why do you think the author titles Chapter Eight “The Runaways,” echoing Chapter Two’s title, “The Runaway”? What do you infer from the notable omission of “Happily” in Chapter Nine’s title, “Ever After”?

  12. How do you interpret the Chapter Nine poem, “Finding the Inner Witch”? Is Natasha’s search really for Baba Yaga, or is it perhaps a journey to find her own inner voice, strength, and truth? Do you think the coda, “You Think You Know This Story,” is an invitation to the reader to write their own story—perhaps the only story anyone can truly know?

  COMMON CORE–ALIGNED READING LITERATURE, WRITING & RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

  These Common Core–aligned activities may be used in conjunction with the pre- and postreading questions above.

  I: SLAVIC MYTH AND RUSSIAN FOLKLORE

  A. Finding Baba Yaga’s Roots in Eastern Europe

  1. Have students do a research project to explore a self-generated question or thesis based on one of the suggested subjects, or a related topic. Organize data from online and library research into a multimedia presentation for the class. Or, have students write a research paper reporting, and reflecting on, their findings.

  Suggested subjects: the relationship between Slavic Myth and Russian Folklore; transition/tension between Russian paganism and Christian orthodoxy; how this cultural legacy is manifest in characters, themes, or symbolism in Finding Baba Yaga; the path from oral storytelling traditions to written fairy tales in Eastern European cultural history; Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of the Fairy Tale, and how Finding Baba Yaga conforms to, or diverges from, key conventions outlined; Linda J. Ivanits’s “double faith” thesis, and how it might relate to some of the tensions, particularly with respect to religion, language, and nature, explored in Finding Baba Yaga’s poetic commentary; compare/contrast Alexander Afanasyev’s Russian Fairy Tales with the Western European fairy tale collections of the Brothers Grimm.

  2. Revisit the text of Finding Baba Yaga to select a literary or cultural reference, symbol, character, or term that has Slavic or Russian roots (byliny, burlak, kazachok, Volga River, Skakza, tsar, or tsarina, for example). Write a brief essay to define it, discuss its historical, cultural, and/or literary significance, and explain its role and relevance in Finding Baba Yaga.

  3. Through online and library research, find a Russian tale featuring a character that appears in Finding Baba Yaga (such as Baba Yaga, Vasilisa, Kostchai the Deathless, Firebird, Ivan). In a 2–3 page essay, compare and contrast the treatment of the character in the traditional Russian tale with their modern reimagining in Jane Yolen’s Finding Baba Yaga. Cite specific details and examples, from both texts, as you analyze your chosen character’s role in plot and theme; relationship to protagonist; characterization as good or evil; attitude, attributes, and appearance. If desired, use your background research to develop a multimedia “Character Sketch” to help classmates gain a richer understanding of the character’s role beyond the two texts, in the larger cultural landscape. Remember to include their literary origins, counterparts in other cultures, and modern analogues if applicable.

  B. Revisiting Baba Yaga: Matriarch, Mentor, or Monster? Witch, Is It?

  1. In the foreword, author Jane Yolen shares that her inspiration for Finding Baba Yaga was the website http://fairytalenewsblog.blogspot.co.uk, “which features an ongoing set of weekly posts voiced by Baba Yaga as a Lonely Hearts columnist. Originally posted on The Hairpin, “Ask Baba Yaga” has since been collected and published as Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles by Taisia Kitaiskaia (Andrews McMeel, 2017). Keeping this in mind, ask students to write a short essay, citing relevant lines, verses, and textual evidence, describing how Baba Yaga inhabits that lonely-hearts-writer role in Ms. Yolen’s Finding Baba Yaga.

  2. Invite students to write a narrative in which they put Baba Yaga in another contemporary role, such as taxi driver, lawyer, guidance counselor, or some such. What protagonist comes to her? What kind of advice or direction are they seeking, and does this “version” of Baba Yaga help or hinder them?

  3. Jane Yolen has written other books in which Baba Yaga is featured: the children’s picture book The Flying Witch, the graphic novel Curses Foiled Again, and the adult novel (written with Midori Snyder) Except the Queen. Invite students to see if they can find one of these books and talk about how Baba Yaga, that protean folktale character, plays many different roles.

  II: POETIC FORMS AND LITERARY DEVICES

  A. Inspiration, Variation, and Combination

  1. Develop a chart that outlines definitions and key features of poetic forms such as: prose, narrative, or lyrical poems; free verse; sonnets; odes; ballads; and epics. Using the chart as a reference, write a short essay analyzing how specific poems, or sections, from Finding Baba Yaga echo or embody elements of one or more of these classic forms.

  2. Ask students to write an essay analyzing how Jane Yolen deploys specific literary techniques or poetic devices in Finding Baba Yaga. In their essays, students can focus on one or several devices, such as alliteration, consonance, simile, wordplay, metaphor, irony, or allegory, for example. Or students might consider how Jane Yolen uses poetic “tools” like number of lines, length and number of stanzas, rhyme scheme, or subject matter. Discuss how she uses these to advance the plot, examine recurring themes, create aesthetic or dramatic effect, or develop characters. Students can focus on one poem, or track the use of a technique throughout Finding Baba Yaga, being sure to cite explicit examples, as well as making inferences from their reading of the text.

  B. Poetic Perspective

  1. On her website (janeyolen.com), Jane Yolen includes these two tips for writing poetry:

  “Look at the world through metaphor.”

  “Tell the truth inside out or on the slant.”

  Ask students to write an essay that explains how, where, and why they think Jane Yolen used these strategies in Finding Baba Yaga. Remind them to reference specific lines, stanzas, poems, or chapters, which illustrate these tips in action.

  2. Invite students to try their hand at writing a poem using one or both of these tips.

  III GENRES, THEMES, AND SYMBOLISM

  A. A Varied Tale

  1. Finding Baba Yaga combines elements of American realism, magical realism, fairy tale, and fable. Ask students which genre they think plays the most dominant role in Finding Baba Yaga. Have them do online and library research on that genre, identify its key features, and write an essay explaining how Finding Baba Yaga fits into the category.

  2. Identify a key theme or symbol from Finding Baba Yaga (such as, the nature and power of lan
guage and story; the journey from childhood to adulthood; the relationship between religion and language; “good” and “bad” words; the unique dynamics of female friendships and mother/daughter relationships; the woods; stones and water; a recurring fairy tale image or reference). In an essay, explain why you think that theme or symbol is significant in Finding Baba Yaga; and cite specific lines, poems, or chapters that illustrate how it is introduced and developed in the text.

  Supports Common Core State Standards: W.9-10.2, 9-10.2A, 9-10.3, 9-10.7, 9-10.9, 9-10.9A, 11-12.1; RL.9-10.1, 9.10.2, 9-10.3, 9-10.4, 9-10.7, 11-12.5; CCRA (College & Career Readiness Anchor Standard).R.5, CCRA.R.6.

  Selected Other Works by Jane Yolen

  Briar Rose

  B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy) (with Adam Stemple)

  Curse of the Thirteenth Fey

  The Devil’s Arithmetic

  Except the Queen (with Midori Snyder)

  Mapping the Bones

  The One-Armed Queen

  A Plague of Unicorns

  Sister Light, Sister Dark

  Snow in Summer

  Sword of the Rightful King

  White Jenna

  About the Author

  JANE YOLEN is a bestselling, beloved, and immensely prolific author of more than 365 books for children, teens, and adults, including the picture book How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and the novels The Devil’s Arithmetic and Briar Rose. She is also a poet, a teacher of writing and literature, and a reviewer of children’s literature. She has been called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” (by Newsweek) and “the Aesop of the twentieth century” (by the New York Times). Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates for her body of work. One of her awards set her good coat on fire. She blames Baba Yaga for that. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Foreword

  You Think You Know This Story

  Chapter One: The Last Fight

  Papa Says, Mama Says

  Argument

  The Word That Shatters Trust

  The Goodest Word, the God-est Word

  Soap in the Mouth

  The Taste That Lingers

  Behind A Closed Door

  Fence of Bones

  The Porch Tells Me to Go

  If I’d Made a Plan

  Chapter Two: The Runaway

  Never Look Back

  All Paths Lead Here

  The Hardest Part

  Phoning a Friend

  What Happens Next

  A Long Walk to Nowhere

  Sleeping Rough

  Washing Away the Filth

  This Is Not a Fairy Tale

  The Last Road

  Chapter Three: Into the Woods

  Counting Stones

  The Forest Opens Like a Yawn

  Stopping to Consider

  Call and Response

  Stones Across a Stream

  Here Where the Path of Healing Starts

  Evening Meadow

  Learning the Words

  Little House in the Wood

  Chapter Four: Meeting the Baba

  That First Word

  Knock Knock, Who’s There

  I See the Bony Hand First

  Meeting Baba Yaga

  Touring the Little House

  Chores

  Feisty Girls

  The Baba’s Iron Nose, Iron Teeth

  Mortar/Pestle

  Chapter Five: Vasilisa

  A Small Knock

  Saying Hello to the Other Girl

  In Vasilisa’s Bed

  How We Are Different, How the Same

  Being Sisters, Becoming Friends

  Vasilisa’s Doll

  The Mirror Knows Her Name

  An Oddness Between

  Chapter Six: Settling In

  This House Turns

  Teaching Us to Drive

  Cauldron

  Baba Yaga’s Garden

  Picking the Garden

  Her Cousin’s House of Candy

  Firebird in the Monkey Puzzle Tree

  Baba Yaga Has Tea with Kostchai the Deathless

  Chicken Feet

  Chapter Seven: A Prince Not Very Charming

  The Prince Comes to Call

  Making Jokes

  I Consult the Baba

  Vasilisa Argues with the Baba

  Baba Yaga Answers in Kind

  An Orchard Tryst

  Silence in the House

  The Prince Is Too

  Vasilisa Dreaming

  Chapter Eight: The Runaways

  Running Away From, Running Towards In Eight Fits

  Chapter Nine: Ever After

  We Plot Revenge

  A Bed for Weeping

  Writing Poems, Telling Lies

  Finally, I Ask Baba Yaga

  Baba Yaga Tells the Future

  Finally, I Think About Baba Yaga’s Tears

  Going Widdershins

  Baba Yaga Swears

  Turn to Me

  Finding the Inner Witch

  Coda

  You Think You Know This Story

  Reading Group Guide

  Selected Other Works by Jane Yolen

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  FINDING BABA YAGA

  Copyright © 2018 by Jane Yolen

  “Baba Yaga Has Tea with Kostchai the Deathless” was originally published in Liminality magazine in 2015; “Mortar/Pestle” was originally published in Mythic Delirium, issue 1.4, in May 2015; “Feisty Girls” was originally published in Mythic Delirium, issue 3.3, in February 2017

  All rights reserved.

  Cover photography by Shutterstock.com

  Cover design by Jamie Stafford-Hill

  A Tor.com Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

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  Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  ISBN 978-1-250-16387-5 (ebook)

  ISBN 978-1-250-16386-8 (trade paperback)

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  First Edition: October 2018

  eISBN 9781250163868

  First eBook edition: October 2018