The Legend of the Dipper

The "Legend of the Dipper" is an American Book Fest double Award winner for best fiction and best hardcover fiction 2025. "The Legend of the Dipper" is a magical and magnificent retelling of an old legend that sends a powerful message of love, bravery, and kindness of a little girl as she undertakes a difficult journey to bring help to her ailing mother. When Katrusya's mother becomes ill, the little girl goes out into the night to fetch water from the lake. On her journey back home she encounters a thirsty dog and a lovely lady. She must decide whether to share the water with them. She remembers how her mother always told her to be kind to others. Magical things begin to happen. Each time Katrusya shares the water, the old tin dipper changes to silver and then to gold. But the most wondrous things is that when her mother drinks the water she becomes well again and the dipper turns into brilliant diamonds. Katrusya and her mother watch in awe as the dipper rises into the sky and fixes itself among the stars. To this day, the brilliant diamong dipper shines in the night sky for all to see. A story told in the Waldorf tradition. "An Easter European spin of a classic tale....a Ukrainian take on Carolyn Sherwin Bailey's 1906 tale.....with an introduction of Ukrainian names and acrylic paintings that evoke images...of floral fabrics, while the whiteness of some flowers foreshadow the significance of stars at the story's conclusion." KIRKUS REVIEW "Dzvinka Hayda's tender illustrations in th style of Ukrainian folk art evoke a global teaching tale about the mysterious Big Dipper, and the proufoundly stellar need of children for healthy parents." NANCY MELLON, Author, Counselor, and Storyteller