This book about a young Russian girl with poor eyesight who wishes that she could make beautifully decorated Easter eggs, called pysanky, is a sort of Rumplestiltskin parallel set in the old country. The girl, Nadia, is granted a magic babushka (headscarf) by a fairy godmother of sorts, which creates lovely eggs that are coveted by the tsarina. However, Nadia's eyesight is not good enough to fulfill the demands to make more of them, until her fairy godmother returns by moonlight to give her some inspiration. It all ends with a (royal) happy ending, and is a nice story to introduce a few Russian words, or to commemorate the Easter season. The watercolor illustrations are lovely, with round rosy-faced characters and beautiful colors. This is not a traditional folktale, but rather an original work of fiction which evokes traditional fairy tales. Appropriate for read aloud to ages 5-8, and for independent readers ages 7-9. ( )