Out of the 20th and 21st century fairytale illustrators that I've been introducing myself to for the last couple of weeks, Craft is easily my favorite. Her work is full to the brim of magic. The pictures are almost otherworldly and could jump from the pages at any moment to draw you in a whirlwind of fairy dust.

I absolutely adored the whispy illustrations in Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty, but the ones in Baba Yaga are even more gorgeous. I've always had a thing for Russian / Eastern European visuals, so all the ornate clothes and interiors and dark forests filled my heart with joy. And the food! My god, I want to try them all.

The story itself is great as well. It starts as Cinderella, but then ends up in a Hansel and Gretel situation, and there's a glowing skull, knights who bring times of day with them, a talking doll, a creepy as hell old crone etc. I appreciated the fact that once again Baba Yaga is not a simplistic villain, although

Spoiler

because it was revealed that she knew Vasilisa's family, it kind of made it seem like Baba Yaga released Vasilisa so that she could kill the stepmother and stepsisters indirectly through her

.