Baba Yaga's Assistant

Enter a modern world in which Baba Yaga exists, no questions asked. After Masha’s beloved grandmother dies and her widowed father plans to remarry, Masha answers a help-wanted ad to become assistant to the mortar-and-pestle-riding, child-eating folkloric character. To win the position, Masha must creatively accomplish challenges set forth by Baba Yaga, including gaining entrance to and then cleaning the witch’s chicken-legged abode. Drawing on lessons learned through her grandmother’s stories as well as a streak of her own inherited magical ability, Masha completes each task and begins to realize that her family’s connections to Baba Yaga are more complex than previously revealed. Comprised of short chapters, this graphic novel shines in its pacing, harmony of image and text, and use of flashbacks and stories-within-stories to advance plot. With vivid coloring, Carroll’s digital art establishes setting and tone. Rhythmic omniscient narration and ornate panel borders for the flashback scenes spotlight the story’s Russian folkloric roots. Baba Yaga is depicted as frightening but occasionally endearing; tension builds as she unexpectedly materializes in and out of scenes, sneakily peeking over windowsills and hidden within forest scenery. Sketches in the back matter inform readers of Carroll’s creative process. elisa gall

After Masha's beloved grandmother dies, Masha answers a help-wanted ad to become assistant to the child-eating folkloric character. To win the position, Masha must creatively accomplish challenges set forth by Baba Yaga. This graphic novel shines in its pacing, harmony of image and text, and use of flashbacks and stories-within-stories to advance plot. With vivid coloring, Carroll's digital art establishes setting and tone.