The Littlest Matryoshka

I love this little adventure story about how the littlest matryoshka doll is taken back to her family. It is very sweet and suitable for younger children. It is pure and innocent and beautifully illustrated. It can be seen symbolically as well: we are like the littlest matryoshka in that we need and can do nothing to help ourselves in dark moments other than be patient and watchful of ourselves and let the storm run its course. If we don't despair, but just be present to the dark moments in our life and wait them out, we will be brought to an even closer relationship with God. (There is no mention of God in this story.)

The Littlest Matryoshka is such a sweet, sweet story! My daughter refers to the Matryoshkas as "Russian dolls" and this story capture both her heart and mine. First you learn about Nikolai, the man who created the dolls in Russia and how the "sisters" get shipped to the toy store in the United States and the littlest doll, Nina, gets lost in the store and then separated from her sisters. The illustrations are beautiful and I believe this is a book that we will keep in our personal library forever to pass on to my daughters' daughters. I purchased this to accompany an actual set of Matryoshkas painted very similarly to the ones in this book. In addition to the story, there's a page that tells of the history of Matryoshka dolls. I can't recommend this lovely book enough!

My 3 1/2 year old granddaughter loves this book. The illustrations are so nice. However, I must say I don't think the author was aware that real Russian Matryoshka dolls are always made in uneven numbers. I learned from a friend who spent time in Russia that even numbers are considered unlucky there...

I bought this to go with a present of Russian nesting dolls. It's a very nice little story with attractive and plentiful illustrations. The smallest doll gets lost and her journey back to her sisters makes up the action of the story. It is gently told with emphasis on hope and love. The illustrations are an echo to the theme with soft colors and brush lines. The story will appeal to girls because of the doll subject matter. It will appeal to VERY LITTLE girls because of it repetitions. The dolls each have a name and they are repeated again and again, fitting in nicely with the story line. Little children do love repetition in their stories. I'm pleased with it. I would put it at about 4th grade reading level if the child is to read it by herself.

This is a really sweet story. My only complaint is that the info in the back about matryoshka dolls and the Russian language had a lot of typos and misinformation... Also, matryoshka dolls traditionally come in sets of odd numbers (considered good luck in Russian culture) and most traditionally in sets of 5, not 6 (as in this book), so if you wanted to follow along the story with the dolls in your (5-doll) set, you will not have enough dolls. But that’s not the end of the world—the book still deserves 5 stars for being a great story and a great companion book to give alongside a set of matryoshka dolls to introduce children to Russian culture.

“The Littlest Matryoshka” is a delightful 9 ¼ inch by 9 ¼ inch beautifully illustrated 29 page childen’s picture book. Every other page includes limited text – usually a paragraph or two. Most of the text pages also include a full color illustration. The facing page to the text page contains a full color, full page illustration without any text. The full color dust jacket and accompanying full color pictorial cover will hook the interest of the reader immediately. The last page in the book is devoted to the history of hand carved matryoska dolls. This is a high interest story about six hand carved matryoshkas. Matryoshkas are Russian carved nesting dolls that fit into each other. Nikolai who lived in a snowy village in Russia carved his last martyoshka and shipped them to a gift shop in America. He named six sister dolls – Anna, Olga, Varka, Vands, Nadia and Nina. Eventually the small carved matryoshka named Nina (about the size of a bumblebee) becomes separated and lost from her five sisters. Nina begins an incredible journey. You will want to red the book to experience this journey and find out how her journey ended. Besides being a delightful children’s story, this book would be a great addition to a school or home library to expose readers to multicultural customs of the world.

I owned a specialty toy shop for 35 years. Russian matryoshka nested dolls were one of our most popular gifts. I was delighted to discover this charming story book at a trade show. For many years we sold sets of dolls, wrapped beautifully atop a copy of this book. I cant possibly count the number of young children who received the lovely combination. I just bought the book and gifted it to my 4-year old grandson who was intrigued after spotting my matryoshka dolls on a display shelf during a FaceTime visit. He loves them!

Or maybe more than a tear. It brought a flood. I almost never cry at books, but this one got to me. I think it's because I was thinking of my sisters while reading it. I don't want to say anything about the story, because I don't want to spoil it. But, suffice it to say, it's a story that was thoughtfully written and beautifully illustrated. I would recommend this book to anyone who collects Matryoshka dolls, and anyone with sisters. It's a great read, even for adults. Just keep those tissues handy.

I have bought this book as a present numerous times - I tend to marry it up with a Russain Doll, which makes a great christening gift. The book tells a lovely story of the smallest Matryoshka, which from my experience is the doll which young children are most obsessed about, and how she reunites with her sister. The pictures which accompany the story are capturvating. Overall a lovely book which I can imagine will be a childhood favourite for many girls.

This was a present and a just expected it to be in excellent condition. Disappointed

Beautifully illustrated. Lovely story. I purchased a set of nesting dolls to enhance the story! I am very pleased with my purchase.

An enjoyable and informative read.

What a lovely story! Should be in every kindergarten class. The illustrations are beautiful. I am lucky enough to have a set of matrioshkas that match the illustrations which made the story even more enjoyable as my students were able to manipulate the "sisters" as I read the story.