The Girl Who Wanted to Hunt: A Siberian Tale

by Emery Bernhard, Durga Yael Bernhard (Illustrator)

A young girl uses her skills as a hunter to avenge her father's death and to escape her evil stepmother.

Genres: Picture Books, Russia, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Anga's mother dies of the Black Death, and her father Adiga remarries, the young girl finds her new stepmother a demanding and unsympathetic parent. Despite Unin's ridicule, Anga's father encourages her, when she expresses a preference for hunting, over the more "womanly" skills, teaching her how to communicate with the animals, and making her a bow and arrow set. But when Adiga is killed by a tiger, and Unin's demands become increasingly difficult to fulfill, Anga soon finds that she must flee...

This tale of a brave young girl who avenges her father's death, by slaying the tiger who killed him, and who - through the persecution of her stepmother - eventually finds refuge on the moon, has also been collected in Dmitri Nagishkin's Folktales of the Amur: Stories from the Russian Far East . Emery Bernhard's retelling is engaging, and, when paired with Durga Bernhard's gouache and acrylic illustrations, will surely please young folklore enthusiasts.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A girl loses her mother when she is very young. Her father marries again so she will have someone to teach her what women's duties are, but the woman he marries is lazy and has the girl waiting on her instead. The girl would really rather be out hunting with her father instead of learning what her duties as a future woman would be. Her father is killed by a tiger while they are out hunting so she has to take over all the duties.

[Nai · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a powerful message and a strong young woman as the main character, it is easy to sit back, relax and enjoy this time-less tale that is a bit of an improvement of Cinderella. A quick, simple read, but will leave you smiling at Anga's courageous tale.

[Oishika · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very interesting and people around the world can know how Siberian's live.