Marie's Magic Eggs
How Marie Procai Kept the Ukrainian Art of Pysanky Alive
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Feb 10, 2026
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- $11.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
★ Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ Foreword Reviews, starred review
★ Booklist, starred review
★ The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
Here is the inspiring story of the woman who kept alive the Ukrainian art of pysanky Easter eggs and brought it to America.
Award-winning creators Sandra Neil Wallace and Evan Turk team up for a richly illustrated picture book biography for kids ages 7–10 who love arts and crafts.
As a new immigrant to America, Marie Procai felt homesick and alone—she missed her homeland, Ukraine. She took comfort in the ancient Ukrainian art of making pysanky, intricately decorated eggs for Easter, an art she learned from her grandmother and brought with her to America. Cradling the pysanka in her hands felt like holding a piece of her homeland and giving her Baba a hug.
Making pysanky made Marie feel a little more hopeful when the Russia’s Red Army invaded Ukraine and forbade anyone from speaking Ukrainian or practicing their traditions, pysanky included. It sustained her spirit when her son was off fighting in World War II, and again when she welcomed Ukrainian refugees into her home after the war. A hardworking entrepreneur, Marie founded the Ukrainian Gift Shop in Minneapolis to keep Ukrainian culture alive in America and share it with everyone.
The legend goes that as long as pysanky are decorated, there will be good in the world. Ukrainian-heritage author Sandra Neil Wallace and award-winning illustrator Evan Turk share this hopeful story of the woman who fought to preserve an essential part of Ukrainian culture.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this moving picture book, Wallace and Turk limn the life story of artist and entrepreneur Marie Procai (1897–1994), focusing on her devotion to her culture's credo that "as long as pysanky are decorated, there will be good in the world." As a child in a Ukrainian village, Procai learns from her grandmother the Easter tradition of creating natural dyes for intricately decorating eggs to express "a story, a wish, a prayer, a gift." Arriving in the U.S. in 1911, she settles in a Ukrainian community in Minneapolis and carries on the craft, eventually introducing and teaching it to expanding audiences. Melodic prose foregrounds Procai's tender relationship with her grandmother, love of her native land, and successful endeavors in globally promoting pysanky and other crafts. Grounded in Ukraine's national colors of yellow and blue, gouache, colored pencil, and resist illustrations are boldly patterned and bright, teaming with the rich narrative to create an immersive tribute to a figure and a traditional art form. Extensive back matter includes an author's note. Ages 7–10.
