Luba and the Wren (Picture Puffins) - Softcover

Studying in the United States and Australia, Patricia Polacco has earned an MFA and a PhD in art history, specializing in Russian and Greek painting, and iconographic history. She is a museum consultant on the restoration of icons. As a participant in many citizen-exchange programs for writers and illustrators, Ms. Polacco has traveled extensively in Russia as well as other former Soviet republics. She continues to support programs that encourage Russo-American friendships and understanding. She is also deeply involved in inner-city projects in the United States that promote the peaceful resolution of conflict and encourage art and literacy programs. The mother of a grown son and a daughter, she currently resides in Michigan, where she has a glorious old farm that was built during the time of Lincoln.

PreSchool-Grade 2A variation of a traditional tale. Looking for mushrooms in the forest, a young girl saves a wren from a fowlers net and to show its gratitude, the bird grants her any wish. Luba realizes that she is content and when she declines the wish, the wren tells her, If ever you want for anything, come to the forest and call me. When the child tells her parents about the incident, they send her back to the wren five times, each time asking for a grander home and more riches until, after they have become Emperor and Empress of all the world, they ask to be as Gods. When the wish is granted, they are returned to their former peasant life, but are truly contented and realize that Luba is their greatest treasure. Polaccos signature illustrations are lush and vibrant. The regal colors of royal blue and crimson play against deep green, dappled brown, and ocher of the natural world. Rosy-cheeked Luba appears humble and honest in her babushka and Ukrainian peasant apparel throughout, while her parents, as they increasingly receive greater material wealth, don the clothing of royalty. Scrolled, intricate frames set the text apart from the lively folk-artlike illustrations. Like Rosemary Wellss The Fisherman and His Wife (Dial, 1998), this picture book examines true happiness and the snares of yearning for material things.Shawn Brommer, Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY
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