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
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First Edition: October 2018
eISBN 9781250163868
First eBook edition: October 2018