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- Egg & Spoon [hc]
Egg & Spoon [hc]
By Gregory Maguire
Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside. Her father has been dead for years. One of her brothers has been conscripted into the Tsar’s army, the other taken as a servant in the house of the local landowner. Her mother is dying, slowly, in their tiny cabin. And there is no food. But then a train arrives in the village, a train carrying untold wealth, a cornucopia of food, and a noble family destined to visit the Tsar in Saint Petersburg- a family that includes Ekaterina, a girl of Elena’s age. When the two girls’ lives collide, an adventure is set in motion, an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and- in a starring role only Gregory Maguire could have conjured- Baba Yaga, witch of Russian folklore, in her ambulatory house perched on chicken legs. The plot contains mild profanity and violence. 496 pages
"Maguire savors every inch of his elaborate narrative, introducing tropes from Russian folktales and giving his characters plenty of play, especially the hardboiled Baba Yaga, who seems to exist outside of time (and is akin to Maguire’s other witches)." -The Horn Book, Starred Review (Middle School)
"Like the matryoshka doll Elena carries, there are a lot of layers to Maguire's story. Rich, descriptive language will reward readers who like to sink their teeth into a meaty story." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review (Ages 12+)
September 9, 2014
AR Level=5.6; Lexile Level=700
Access a discussion guide from Candlewick Press