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Egg & Spoon Audiobook
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“A beautiful reminder that fairy tales are at their best when they illuminate the precarious balance between lighthearted childhood and the darkness and danger of adulthood.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside, and there is no food. But then a train arrives in the village, a train carrying a cornucopia of food, untold wealth, and a noble family destined to visit the Tsar in Saint Petersburg—a family that includes Ekaterina, a girl of Elena’s age. When the two girls’ lives collide, an adventure is set in motion, an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and—in a starring role only Gregory Maguire could have conjured—Baba Yaga, witch of Russian folklore, in her ambulatory house perched on chicken legs.
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“Maguire, a veteran writer of reimagined traditional tales for a new world, jauntily explores themes no less profound than hunger and satiety, class and influence, and the sharing of resources in a world wracked by climate change…This is an epic rich with references, aphorisms, and advice. An ambitious, Scheherazade-ian novel, rather like a nesting-doll set of stories, that succeeds in capturing some of the complexities of both Russia and life itself.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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“In Maguire’s exhilarating tale of a Russia beset by floods and witnessing the possible death of magic, myth bleeds into folk tale, fairy tale, and history.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“A riveting, funny, richly detailed make-believe from celebrated Wicked author Maguire, Egg & Spoon is a Russian prince-and-pauper story turned on its head, replete with mistaken identities and fanciful journeys. The best parts involve fairy-tale creatures, most notably Baba Yaga, the wickedest witch you’ll ever have the pleasure of crossing. Entirely charming, this begs to be read aloud.”
— RT Book Reviews (4 stars) -
“The author weaves a lyrical tale full of magic and promise, yet checkered with the desperation of poverty and the treacherous prospect of a world gone completely awry. Egg & Spoon is a beautiful reminder that fairy tales are at their best when they illuminate the precarious balance between lighthearted childhood and the darkness and danger of adulthood.”
— School Library Journal (starred review) -
“Narrator Michael Page creates two girls—an earnest and believable Elena and a youthful, cultured Ekaterina…Page especially shines as the story’s narrator. The character may be unreliable, but we believe his aged and patrician voice and hang on to his every measured word as he challenges us to ponder the nature of fate. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
“Although Cat and Elena’s burgeoning friendship and determination make for a heartening story, it’s Maguire’s Baba Yaga, full of irreverent anachronisms and a salty attitude, who steals the show.”
— Booklist
Awards
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A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week, September 2014
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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An AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year for 2014
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One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2014 for Teens
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A 2014 New York Times Book Review Notable Book for Children
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A New York Times Editor’s Choice
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Winner of the 2015 Audie Award for Best Teen Fiction Narration
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About Gregory Maguire
?Gregory Maguire is an American author of nonfiction and fiction and fantasy for children, young adults, and adults, including the Wicked Years, the first book of which is Wicked—the basis for the major motion picture and Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name. He received his PhD in English and American literature from Tufts University and his BA degree from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children’s Literature from 1979-1985.
About Michael Page
Michael Page has been recording audiobooks since 1984 and has over two hundred titles to his credit. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As a professional actor, he has performed regularly since 1998 with the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He is a professor of theater at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.