Brianne Kovac

### Outfit

Current: Pink western short-sleeve blouse, pink slim fit jeans, tan belt, tan roper boots

**Brianne Marusia Kovac** was one of the four original Maplelea Girls released by Maplelea. She was released in **2003**.

## Character and Personality

Brianne is a ten-year-old girl (almost eleven) who lives in Sandy Lake, Manitoba, just south of Riding Mountain National Park. She lives with her family; her father died when she was young, so she lives with a single mother, Christina, who runs the farm, her maternal grandparents, who moved in to help her mother out, and her older brother Thomas. Unlike Thomas, Brianne loves living on the farm and doing farmwork and would like to one day take over for her mom. Unfortunately, her grandfather believes that women should not do farmwork and often makes her cook with her Baba, but this does not deter Brianne. If the family needs something for the farm they cannot make or grow themselves, they shop in Sandy Lake, or occasionally in Dauphin or Neepawa, which are each an hour away. A few times a year they go to Winnipeg on a four-hour drive, "stopping at Neepawa for lunch."

Brianne deeply loves her home. She likes best that she can watch the sky change colors, that she can go into town if need be, and that they are near a major park. She also loves to sit on the pasture and listen to the soft sounds of the farm. She doesn't do much work on the grain, as that is Thomas's job, but she loves caring for the animals, especially her Welsh Pony, Chinook. She finds Chinook to be very trustworthy and sweet and often talks to him about her problems. The family also has two border collies named Go-fer and Crocus, thirty Holstein cows, a few chickens and geese, and "two-to-ten" barn cats, the most consistent of which is an orange tom named Fingers, who has six fingers on each paw. To make extra money, Brianne also began raising and selling dwarf rabbits; she won an award for her pet, Hoppit.

Her family is very close, and Brianne describes them as "happy together," especially during holidays, when her Baba makes traditional food. However, Brianne is very frustrated by being treated as "delicate" by her grandfather for her gender, and by the rest of her family for being the youngest. This is amplified by the fact she is small for her age and also has light skin that quickly sunburns. She wishes she could find a way to help the farm make money, and that Gigi would let her raise her own calf to prove her responsibility. While she listens to her Gigi when he tells her to help her Baba bake instead of help on the farm, she will return to the barn later to help when he is too tired to argue with her, and she thinks he is impressed by this. Brianne also loves her Baba, and tells her a lot of things that she doesn't tell her own mother, who is often worried. Brianne says her mother has the "nicest smile in the world," and gives the tightest hugs; she would like to be just like her mother when she grows up.

Brianne's mother calls her a "study in contrasts," as her interests can be unpredictable. While Brianne enjoys farmwork, she also is very interested in dancing, especially ballet, and secretly wishes to be a professional ballerina and dance in a "real ballet;" she was inspired by seeing *The Nutcracker* performed in Winnipeg. She does take Ukrainian dancing lessons, and performs with her friends at the big Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin yearly.

Brianne is in Grade Five at Sandy Lake School, and takes a 25-minute bus ride to and from school every day. She is "a star" at math, as she has to do quick numbers in her head on the farm in order to calculate feed for the animals. She isn't very good at spelling, as she has trouble remembering the grammar rules. Brianne can speak English, French, and some Ukrainian.

She participates in 4-H, a club that helps children become good adults. Her best friend is a girl named Laura Ignatiuk, who lives close enough to them that Brianne can see her house from her bedroom window. The two of them go riding on their horses together, often packing a picnic and then exploring new trails, or sometimes the Trans Canada Trail. They got lost once, only to let their horses guide them home.

Brianne's favorite color is pink, and she likes to wear something pink every day to remind her that no matter how dirty she gets, she will always "clean up nicely." She considers wildflowers her special symbol, and draws them on "just about everything." She considers herself good at being a friend and keeping secrets, and she is trying to learn how to follow instructions and pinch perogy dough. Brianne is also creative and a bit rebellious when she wants to be; when her Baba forbade her from using the word "hate," she found multiple different synonyms for the word to use instead, proudly declaring that she "didn't say hate!"

Brianne likes to collect rocks and dolls, and displays them on her bedroom shelf. She is also very good at sewing and embroidery, skating, and swimming. Her favorite books are horse stories, non-fiction about animals and rocks, and puzzles. She has basic culinary knowledge, knowing how to make grilled cheese, scrambled eggs, and chocolate chip cookies. In the future, Brianne would like to either run the farm, or be a prima ballerina, or both.

## Family and Friends

### Family

* Christina Kovac: Brianne's mother, who runs the farm.
* Brian Kovac: Brianne's father. He died when Brianne was "very little."
* Ed "Gigi" Klymkiw: Brianne’s grandfather. He does a lot of the farm work.
* Marusia "Baba" Klymkiw: Brianne’s grandmother. She is an incredible baker.
* Thomas Kovac: Brianne’s fifteen-year-old brother.
* Several unnamed "aunties, uncles and cousins"

### Friends

* Laura Ignatiuk: Brianne's "special friend." She lives near enough to the Kovacs that Brianne can see her house from her bedroom window, and the two of them love to ride and explore together. At school, they are very attached to each other.
* Catriona Rabson: Brianne's "good friend."
* Teddy Laxdal: Brianne's school friend.
* Ms. Cumbers: Brianne's principal.
* Ms. Sylvia Cheshire: Brianne's teacher. She thinks that she looks like the Cheshire Cat.

* Alexi: Brianne's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Cabbagetown, Ontario.
* Charlsea: Brianne's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
* Jenna: Brianne’s friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
* Leonie: Brianne's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Quebec City, Quebec.
* Saila: Brianne's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
* Taryn: Brianne's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Banff, Alberta.

## Doll

*See: Brianne Kovac (doll)*

* Face Mold: Classic
* Complexion: Light
* Hair: Long blonde hair with bangs
* Eyes: Blue

## Trivia

* The first "Manitoba Kovac" came to Canada in 1898 from Ukraine as a teenager; his name was originally *Kravchuk,* but it was shortened to Kovac when he immigrated. The current Kovacs still have his old sod house in their north pasture.
	+ The family also still has an "old black stove" from her great-grandmother.
* Brianne was born on a Sunday afternoon during a fierce storm; her family says the rain stopped when she started to cry.
* Brianne's favorite color is pink, and her least favorite color is brown.
	+ Pink makes her feel "clean and pretty," and reminds her of her baby blanket, "soft muzzles, the bottom of cat paws, rosebuds, a summer sunset," and "skin after a warm bath."
* Her favorite foods are perogies and sour cream, holubtsi, roasted potatoes and celery, ham and pineapple pizza, and homemade bread.
	+ She also loves pink jellybeans, strawberry milkshakes, and birthday cake with pink frosting.
* Her least favorite foods are mushrooms, mushy macaroni and Saskatoon berries.
	+ She dislikes brown due to the dirt on the barn floor.
* Brianne looks a lot like her mother.
* She has an "old patchwork quilt" folded at the bottom of her bed.

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Brianne's Journal*

 **Léonie Bélanger-Leblanc**