Here are three things I love about this story. It’s has its roots firmly in Russian folklore, featuring the Baba Yaga character who is intriguing and funny and just a bit cranky and not at all beautiful. Sort of the anti-Disney princess. It has delightful illustrations. I am loving the trend toward more illustration in middle grade fiction. Cheers to artist Pauliina Hannuniemi for artwork that feels timeless. It features a wolf that feels suitably wolfish. And finally, it’s a saga to sweep you away without being one of these overblown 900 page doorstopper books that I’m finding a bit daunting to read at the moment. It’s fantasy on a human scale, a vivid and rollicking adventure, in the trappings of an old-world fairy tale, that proves a wolf doesn’t have to be big or bad to win the day!