Easter Eggs for Anya

Nineteenth-century Ukraine is the rustic setting for a picture-book tale of Easter and its attendant new beginnings. As the holiday approaches, young Anya prays that her father will return from the war and that her family's struggling farm will prosper. At the same time, she laments the fact that she will have no eggs to decorate as traditional painted pysanky eggs this year. But Anya stumbles on good fortune when a fox catches a mother goose that leaves behind a nest of four eggs. Though Anya secretly rejoices that she will have pysanky Easter gifts to give after all, the goose's treasure ensures that Anya's prayers are answered in a number of other surprising ways. In this latest entry in the Traditions of Faith from Around the World series, Kroll introduces, via the everyday life of a child, the key aspects of this Christian celebration as it is cherished by another culture. Comport's (Brave Margaret ) mixed-media compositions, featuring lots of springy pinks and greens, make readers feel like they are peeking into a pastel scrapbook from another time. Notes on the history of the egg painting tradition and suggestions for crafts and activities are included. Intricate pysanky-style painting adorns the endpages. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)