I like that this is a children’s story book that has some history to it. It is based off of the story of a family who lived in Russia. They survived both the Civil War and World War Two. After all that they survived a run in with the Nazis. This story is told in a way that children can learn from and enjoy. I like that the story is told from the little girl asking her grandmother to tell her a bed time story, so really it’s a story with in a story. I would describe the pictures in the book as scrap book-like. They look like they could have been made out of pieces of scrap book paper because they have so many patterns and are so colorful. I like how each page flows on to the next one containing similar art work and the similar colors. The people in the book are not illustrated similar to any other book I have read, I would like to go find out where the illustrator is from and if they are Russian.
This book was a page-turner, as the grandmother tells her journey through life to her granddaughter. The storyline was based on true events, which made it even more interesting to read about. Although there were many paragraphs to read at a time, it would be a great story to read one day to older elementary students (4th-5th graders).