A young girl named Vasilisa has to go to the Queen of Asps to ask for the Brew of Life to save her dying old father. The Queen is not very friendly...
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Apr 21, 2010
Christy
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Since this is a children's book I wanted to look at it in that context. It doesn't seem like this is a book a child would read to themselves, the pace and the lack of visual stimulation would have them putting it down quickly, so I would suggest at lease some illustrations be added. Now, as a book you would read TO a child, it does much better. It is the standard fairy tale adventure you could put down and pick right up the next night without having to have a reminder of what you had read. I
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Nov 17, 2009
Peggy
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Vasilisa and the Queen of Asps by Svetlana Kovalkova-McKenna is a fascinating book that will keep a child on the edge of their seats from page to page. The book has a heart-felt story that involves a treacherous journey through six mountains to see the Queen of Asps who lives in the seventh mountain. The Queen has a brew that will save Vasilisa's father from death. It seems the demands of the Queen will never end in order to return home with the brew. But Vasilisa never gives in to her fear from
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May 06, 2010
Ruth
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In the land of Once Upon a Time, Vasilia, a dutiful daughter, sets out to find a miracle cure for her aging father. Through her kindness, she befriends a gypsy who sends her into the forest to find two black snake-covered stones, which quickly transform into the young daughters of the Queen of Asps, a powerful medicine woman. Vasilia mends the skin of one of the snake/daughters, Naya, saving her life. In gratitude Naya leads Vasilia through an arduous journey through the seven mountains, fill
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May 09, 2010
Rachel
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Vasilisa and the Queen of Asps is a story about a young woman on a journey to obtain the Brew of Life in order to delay her father's imminent death. I say "young woman" instead of the author's words, "young girl," because I initially assumed the "girl" would be 9, no older than 11 years old. As soon as it was mentioned that men had been trying to court her, I had to change my vision of Vasilisa right away!
The narrative reminds me very much of a folktale, More...
The narrative reminds me very much of a folktale, More...
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Apr 30, 2010
Jennefer
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I thought this was an interesting and unique story that moved quickly - I enjoyed the folktale style of storytelling and the author's descriptive imagery.
I didn't like the first chapter as much as the rest of the book tho - I am not a writer but there were some awkward phrasing and consistency problems that bothered me - such as when the author describes Vasilisa's sisters, who she initially calls her grown-up married sisters, then goes on to clarify that they are half sisters as i More...
I didn't like the first chapter as much as the rest of the book tho - I am not a writer but there were some awkward phrasing and consistency problems that bothered me - such as when the author describes Vasilisa's sisters, who she initially calls her grown-up married sisters, then goes on to clarify that they are half sisters as i More...
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Oct 10, 2009
Joe
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To capture the attention of young readers, a book must contain three elements. Interesting characters, a goal worth pursuing, and conflict along the way. Svetlana Kovalkova-McKinna, the author of Vasilisa, wrote the book for her daughter as a way of presenting a story with a strong female role model, and as a handbook for finding her own Prince Charming.
Vasilisa is a young girl who is forced to embark on a perilous quest in search of the Brew of Life to save her dying father. The ch More...
Vasilisa is a young girl who is forced to embark on a perilous quest in search of the Brew of Life to save her dying father. The ch More...
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Jul 05, 2009
Svetlana
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A young girl named Vasilisa has to go to the Queen of Asps to ask for the Brew of Life to save her dying old father. The Queen is not very friendly to say the least and tries her best to see the girl dead. Vasilisa does not scare easily, read for yourself: "...“Did you enjoy your last meal, cutie?” said a low, cackling voice from the dark of the cave. The witch snapped her fingers and several torches along the wall shot out fire. Standing now in front of Vasilisa, the witch could as w More...
May 06, 2010
Bonnie
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Lucky me, I won this book from Goodreads book giveaway! I've read a few children's books with my grand daughter Isabel (she is 10) and know she will gobble this up. Any child reading this book will enjoy the looks of the characters as the descriptions are similar to eye candy, the tale is tight and well writen, I can envision this as a tale in a movie. I applaud the writer, so, keep the books coming. Adding Illustrations would probably not appeal to many children.
Bonnie
Bonnie
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Aug 31, 2009
Darcia
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Vasilisa and the Queen of Asps, by Svetlana Kovalkova-McKenna, is all that a children’s story should be. Creative, imaginative, and entertaining, Svetlana takes you on a journey into a fantasy world that you may never want to leave.
Vasilisa is a young woman intent on saving her father’s life. Her love for him sends her in search of the Queen of Asps and her Brew of Life. Along the way, Vasilisa meets a troll, a talking eagle, and an old witch. Some want to help her, others want to st More...
Vasilisa is a young woman intent on saving her father’s life. Her love for him sends her in search of the Queen of Asps and her Brew of Life. Along the way, Vasilisa meets a troll, a talking eagle, and an old witch. Some want to help her, others want to st More...
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Sep 02, 2009
Alison
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The first mistake I made when reading this book, was that I was trying to read it as a young adult book, and it's not. I haven't read a children's book since I was a child and found that I had to re-adjust the way I thought about it. At first, I wanted there to be much more description; of characters, feelings, scenes etc. But I realized after a while that you don't do that in a children's book because it would be lost on them.
When I imagined that I was reading it aloud to a small More...
When I imagined that I was reading it aloud to a small More...
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May 06, 2010
Elise
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Won it.
Very cute, and for young artists, its a good idea. My sister loves drawing, so for my Xmas gift from her, I had her draw me the pics! :)
Very cute, and for young artists, its a good idea. My sister loves drawing, so for my Xmas gift from her, I had her draw me the pics! :)
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