Firebird Adventure One by Julia Gousseva
This book starts out with Alex and Katie and they are done with school for the summer months.
When their parents spoke Russian they knew something was going to happen and fast....Their Teeeeeeemom told them they'd be leaving for urgent business in Russia, the kids to stay at Aunt Karina's house.
Kids knew she was weird and that was the end of a fun summer....the kids find the Russian fairytale book. It's about stories that are worn out at the end and they figure out a way to finish them....
Only two rules to follow when they go through the portal but they don't do the rules....
Offer of a free book. Table of contents listed at the end.
Great middle age chapter reading book. ( )

Firebird is based on Russian folk tales. The story is off two young children shuttled off to an elderly aunt while their parents return to Russia to deal with a crisis. The aunt is old and had difficulty moving around so the kids are less than thrilled to be stuck with her and not going to Russia with their parents. They pass the time listening to the folk tale of the Firebird and the magic properties of it’s brilliant feathers. Alex, the elder of the two children, is bored. His attitude changes though when he and his sister, Katie, find a magic portal.

Their aunt tells them they can go through the portal but warns them of the dangers. The primary danger is old ladies are not always nice so to avoid them and certainly do not talk to them. Alex and Katie enter the portal and their adventure begins. They have several run ins with a not so nice old lady (Baba Yaga) and meet the firebird.

Firebird was a quick story that young children will love. At least my children would have. The story has suspense and a few scary moments but not too scary for the grammar school crowd. I would hesitate for any child younger than five unless they had a good understanding of reality vs fantasy.

The production values were good. The narrator Rebecca Lea McCarthy did a nice job with the voices. Alex, the young boy, is distinct from his younger sister, Katie. The aunt is distinct from Baba Yaga. I had no trouble following which character was speaking and I do not think a child would either. Firebird is the first of five adventures Alex and Katie share. If your child enjoyed the Magic Tree House series, this should be right up their alley. The big bonus with this series is exposing your child to the myths and folklore of another culture. If you are Russian, this would be a great starting point for sharing the folktales of your culture.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.
Story (Plot) 4
Performance 4
Production Quality 4
Attention Holding 4
( )

ABR's original Firebird: Adventure One audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Firebird is based on Russian folk tales. The story is off two young children shuttled off to an elderly aunt while their parents return to Russia to deal with a crisis. The aunt is old and had difficulty moving around so the kids are less than thrilled to be stuck with her and not going to Russia with their parents. They pass the time listening to the folk tale of the Firebird and the magic properties of it’s brilliant feathers. Alex, the elder of the two children, is bored. His attitude changes though when he and his sister, Katie, find a magic portal.

Their aunt tells them they can go through the portal but warns them of the dangers. The primary danger is old ladies are not always nice so to avoid them and certainly do not talk to them. Alex and Katie enter the portal and their adventure begins. They have several run ins with a not so nice old lady (Baba Yaga) and meet the firebird.

Firebird was a quick story that young children will love. At least my children would have. The story has suspense and a few scary moments but not too scary for the grammar school crowd. I would hesitate for any child younger than five unless they had a good understanding of reality vs fantasy.

The production values were good. The narrator Rebecca Lea McCarthy did a nice job with the voices. Alex, the young boy, is distinct from his younger sister, Katie. The aunt is distinct from Baba Yaga. I had no trouble following which character was speaking and I do not think a child would either. Firebird is the first of five adventures Alex and Katie share. If your child enjoyed the Magic Tree House series, this should be right up their alley. The big bonus with this series is exposing your child to the myths and folklore of another culture. If you are Russian, this would be a great starting point for sharing the folktales of your culture.

Audiobook provided for review by the author. ( )

Firebird by Julia-Gousseva is an admirable undertaking, striving to update one of the most fascinating fairytales in literature, and make it accessible to young readers. Framed in the here and now, this is a journey of discovery, starting with two kids, Alex and Katie, coming to spend the summer with their weird relative, aunt Karina.

In her house, a door engraved with foxes and bears leads into a musty library, where Katie discovers an old thick book, a book of Russian fairytale. It is here the kids learn about the Firebird. It is a creature of marvel, traditionally described as having majestic plumage that glows ever so brightly. Its feathers are magical, they can heal pain--but they lose their power if captured by force. Here is a great lesson to be learned.

Alex, skeptical of the powers of magic, lays his hand on the canvas of a painting, and his hand goes through, which is when he finds himself in the middle of the meadow, looking back at his sister who remains on the other side, in the realm of reality. It is then that he understands that the painting is a portal into a world of adventure.

The kids go on a quest, to bring the magical feather to heal Aunt Karina's pain. But first, she warns them of two things: the feather must be given freely by the Firebird, and they must refrain from talking to old ladies, especially the Baba Yaga, the witch who eats children. Will the follow these instructions? Will the survive the journey, and bring back the magical feather?

In reading this book, my only reservation is this: when writing flashbacks from a moment in the past to time before that, a writer should make use of the 'past perfect' tense, which help make the distinction between time periods. Overall, having heard many Russian stories in my childhood, I find Firebird enchanting.

Five stars. ( )