Five Sisters

March 15, 2020
A childless couple encounters magic in their woodland home. At the story's beginning, the despondent husband visits an oak he's grown from a sapling. The kindly tree proffers a branch as thanks for its "gift of life." From this the man carves five brightly patterned wooden dolls that are imbued with magic. The woman cherishes them as longed-for daughters, and the couple is overjoyed. Their happiness is short-lived, however. Spying a wolf lurking, the man chases it away, but having devoured the dolls, the animal disgorges the pieces and flees. Heartbroken, the man wraps the remains in flowers and places them in the hollow trunk of the magical oak. And oh, what miracles follow! The story, in the style of a traditional folktale, presents themes about the natural world and the joys of children and family but is bogged down by florid, stilted prose that may confound young readers. The sprightly, colorful folkloric illustrations, portraying the white couple wearing Eastern European folk garb, don't always jibe with the text. The old man's hair is sometimes black, sometimes gray while the old woman's is consistently gray. The text is set against colored backgrounds; occasionally, white type is difficult to discern against pale backdrops. Lively illustrations don't make up for a skippable story. (Picture book. 4-7)

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June 12, 2020

PreS-Gr 2-Familiar fairy-tale elements course through the story of an elderly couple who wish for a child, paired with illustrations painted in a traditional Romanian style. The old woman and old man care for the forest but yearn for a child. When an oak tree hears the old man's sorrow it gifts him a branch from which the man carves five wooden dolls. The old couple cherish the dolls through the seasons until winter comes and a wolf chews up the dolls. The old man mournfully returns the dolls to the heart of the oak tree, where they are transformed into a "daughter, real and true." The illustrations create a distinctive look for each doll and for flora and fauna of the forest, with the menacing wolf foreshadowed in the early spreads of the book. When winter comes the wolf dominates the spread, menacing the cottage in a larger-than-life portrayal until driven away by the old man brandishing what is illustrated as a branch but described in the text as a trowel. Dramatically overwritten prose carries the theme of seasons throughout the story, comparing the old man's tears to "spring rain" and their joy in the dolls to "eternal spring." VERDICT A more modern take on traditional folktale elements can be found in Vera Brosgal's Leave Me Alone. This is a supplemental purchase for collections interested in Romanian inspired art and prose.-Amanda Foulk, Sacramento P.L.

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