Tell me a story, Babushka - Carola Schmidt

Author: Carola Schmidt

Illustrator: Anita Barghigiani

Genre: Children's picture book.

Rating: 4 stars.

A story set during the time of the Holodomor (the man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians), with a brave little girl as the central character.

“Tell me a story, Babushka” is how the book begins, with a little girl asking her grandma for a story with a princess and monsters. Thus the grandma narrates a tale of a young girl who lived long ago in Ukraine, during the Holodomor. When the “monsters” come and take her family to Siberia, a mysterious note is left in a matryoshka doll for all kids to gather at dawn. That’s how they make their escape.

The content incorporates quite a lot for a picture book. There aren’t more than 4-5 sentences on most pages, and the book is just about 24 pages long. Yet it covers the little girl’s family background, their capture, the mysterious plan in Siberia and even her escape. As a children’s story, there’s nothing gruesome happening on the pages, but even the filtered content is saddening and disturbing. However, the ending, so infused with determination and hope, provides a fitting climax to the little girl’s ordeal.

The writing leaves some gaps in the plot. The whats are mentioned but the whys aren’t detailed out. We never learn what happened to the girls’ parents, or which lady left a note in the Matryoshka dolls, or how the girl reached another country. In fact, when the girl finds the escape note, there’s not a single statement from her side indicating her worry for her parents or about getting them to join the escape plan. I found that odd. So this book might work as a means to spur discussion, but will also leave the little readers with plenty of questions.

There are minor continuity errors, none of which would be noticeable to little readers. But the abrupt insertion of a few sentences stood out to me as an adult reader.

I had heard of the Holodomor only earlier this year when I had read a historical fiction set around it. That helped me understand the events in this book. There’s a brief paragraph on the Holodomor at the start of the book. It would be helpful if the accompanying adult read up a little on the Holodomor so as to make things easier during explanations.

The illustrations are where the book really shines. Anita Barghigiani does a fabulous job, inserting an authentic feel to every single page. The colour tones are darker during sad times and bright during happier moments.

The official target reading age for this book is 5 - 8 years. But the content might be triggering for younger kids, especially if they are sensitive. Of course, we all need to know our past so as to avoid making the same mistakes in future, so this little book serves well as an introductory glimpse into manmade devastation. It would also be a nice way of knowing about other ethnicities and their historical struggles.

Definitely recommended, but be aware that it is not easy reading. It teaches children that humankind isn’t always kind, but one can’t lose hope. A novel picture book to have in schools and libraries.

My thanks to Blackberry Book Tours for a complimentary copy of “Tell me a story, Babushka”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.