Review: Beautiful Russian folklore updated and modernised - Magical!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 16, 2014
This is a wonderful collection of modern short fairy tales about two children who find a portal to a magic world in their aunt’s house.In "Firebird: Adventure One,"  encouraged by the aunt, they step through the portal to the magic land of the firebird, whose feathers have healing properties, but only if gifted.The great twist to this fairy tale is that the characters interact in their actions with a book about a firebird which they were just reading before spotting the portal. They now have the opportunity to determine the outcome of the book. This is not a Narnia tale by any means but has its roots in a folk tale and I found a moral message written between the lines: Gifts trumps any gain obtained by force.In “The Lollipop: Adventure Two," the children end up helping a poor Russian fisherman who has been imprisoned by the Tsar. With a little magic and lollipops, they work their wonders. As before, Gousseva gives her characters the chance to become part of a story, spurning on the young reader's imagination what they would do. Questioning the Tsar and his stubborn and unkind ways the book is also a moral tale based on old Russian folk stories. I love the concept of readers stepping into the story, since books tend to do that more or less anyway.“Snowdrops: Adventure Three" concerns a mean step-mother, and our heroes help her step-daughter in her struggles.Beautifully told and based on original Russian folklore, but updated and modernised in this wonderful way, these stories are very magical and simply amazing. Read the whole series, it is worth it.