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The answer is, of course, "It depends." No single book is the best book; all have their strengths and weaknesses. Choosing a book means taking into account what you wish to use it for.
If you wish to learn all about pysanky--their history, symbolism, folkways--then the book of choice is Vira Manko's "Ukrainian Folk Pysanka." No other book in publication (or out of publication) rivals hers for the depth and breadth of her scholarship, readability, and the gorgeous plates of traditional pysanky (1464 altogether).
If you wish to have a beginner's guide to making pysanky, then one of the Ukrainian Gift Shop publications would be your book of choice.
It you're looking for a very basic guide to making pysanky (without any other bells and whistles) you might consider the UGS "Kid's Guide." It's a great resource for kids as well as adults.
A partial listing of books useful for those making pysanky follows. More extensive lists can be found at the links below.
Traditional Pysanky
All of these books discuss traditional pysanky, and the latter two contain much material about pysanka history and traditions.
ELYJIW, ZENON. Sixty Score of Easter Eggs: A Comprehensible Album of Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Rochester, NY, Private Printing, 1994. This album contains photographs of the author's own collection of traditional (and some diasporan) pysanky, organized by region, division and theme. The book provides a priceless record of historical pysanky designs. Unfortunately, it is out of print, although copies can still be found on line.
MANKO VIRA. The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka. Lviv, Ukraine: Svichado Press, 2005. This book is the best written on the subject of the traditional folk pysanka, and includes plates with photos of 1460 different eggs.
TKACHUK, MARY AND MARIE KISHCHUK, ALICE NICHOLAICHUK. Pysanka: Icon of the Universe. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada: Ukrainian Museum, 1977. This little booklet may be small, but it is full of treasures about pysanka history, folklore, and symbolism.
Diasporan Pysanky: Ukrainian Gift Shop (UGS) Publications
All of the books below were published in Minneapolis by the Perchyshyn family, and are technical guides to creating Ukrainian-style decorated eggs. Several also contain a bit of history, symbolism and traditions. All include step-by-step instructions for creating lovely eggs.
KMIT, ANNE AND , LORETTA LUCIOW, JANET LUCIOW, AND LUBA PERCHYSHYN. Ukrainian Easter Eggs And How We Make Them. Minneapolis, MN: Ukrainian Gift Shop, 1979. Currently out of print. The book covers traditions, symbolism and technique, before presenting twenty-seven eggs in simple, clear, black and white illustrations.
LUCIOW, JOHANNA AND ANNE KMIT AND LORETTA LUCIOW. Eggs Beautiful: How to Make Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Minneapolis, MN: Gopher State Litho, 1975. This early UGS book presents a good explaination of the culture, history, and technique of pysanky along with eighteen designs in black and white.
PERCHYSHYN, LUBA AND JOHANNA LUCIOW AND NATALIE PERCHYSHYN. Ukrainian Easter Egg: Design Book 2. Minneapolis, MN: Ukrainian Gift Shop, 1986. Twenty-four new patterns are presented here along with the same information about culture and technique from the previous books.
PERCHYSHYN, NATALIE. A Kid's Guide to Decorating Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Minneapolis, MN: Gopher State Litho, 2000. With bold colors and a spiral binding (making it easier to lie flat), this book seems simple, but nonetheless presents the entire pysanky process along with many tips and tricks.
PERCHYSHYN, NATALIE. Ostrich Pysanky: Decorating Ostrich Eggs the Ukrainian Way. Minneapolis, MN: Gopher State Litho, 1996. Step-by-step instructions guide the artist through the arduous and daunting task of decorating an ostrich egg for the first time.
PERCHYSHYN, NATALIE. Ukrainian Easter Egg: Design Book 3.Minneapolis, MN: Ukrainian Gift Shop, 1995. Twenty-four eggs are presented here in step-by-step fashion, along with some explanation of symbols and colors.
PERCHYSHYN, NATALIE. Ukrainian Easter Egg Design Book 4.Minneapolis, MN: Gopher State Litho, 2002. Twenty-four step-by-step egg designs by Luba Perchyshyn, in color.
PERCHYSHYN, NATALIE AND DEANNA PERCHYSHYN. Ukrainian Easter Egg Design Book 5. Minneapolis, MN: Gopher State Litho, 2006. The fifth design book in the series contains 26 patterns, including one ostrich egg and one goose egg. The patterns are in color. There is extensive discussion of technique, and it is probably the best book of this series.
PERCHYSHYN, NATALIE AND LUBA PERCHYSHYN, JOHANNA LUCIOW, AND ANNE KMIT. Ukrainian Design Book: Book 1. Minneapolis, MN: Gopher State Litho, 1984. Twenty-four egg patterns presented in clear, easy-to-follow black and white.
Advanced Pysanka Techniques
Not for the beginner, but these books do contain some good tips and tricks for more advanced artists.
BADULAK, HELEN. Pysanky in the 21stCentury. Kutztown, PA: The Kutztown Publishing Company, Inc., 2004. This book is filled with photos of hundreds of Badulak's eggs, but her step-by-step photos are a bit hard to follow, especially the more complex designs. This is not a book for the beginner, but for someone who wants to learn more advanced pysanka techniques.
POLLAK, JANE. Decorating Eggs: Exquisite Designs with Wax and Dye. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 1998. Jane Pollak became famous for her magnificent quilt-pattern eggs, which sold for a fortune at exclusive Manhattan area galleries before she turned her attention to inspirational speaking. The book is worth obtaining just for the photographs of modern pysanka-style eggs from artists all around the world, but includes wonderful text and instructions also.
Children's Picture-Books
POLACCO, PATRICIA. Chicken Sunday. New York, NY: Philomel Books, 1992. Well-known author and artist Patricia Polacco drew on her own personal experiences to write this lovely story about a young girl who taught her two friends to make pysanky. Wonderful lesson plans based on the book can be found on line.
Design Books
Not pysanka books, but contain motifs and designs of interest to those wishing to create original batik eggs as opposed to traditional Ukrianian pysanky.
APPLETON, LE ROY H. American Indian Design and Decoration. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1971. This book balances text and illustrations, explaining the history and meaning behind all the patterns. It was first published in 1950 by Scribner's Sons, NY, NY as Indian Art of the Americas.
BENTLEY, W.A. AND W.J. HUMPHREYS. Snow Crystals. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962. An amazing collection of photos of actual snowflakes, this book, first published in 1931 by McGraw-Hill Book Company, is a treasure trove of snowflake design ideas.
BERLO, JANET AND PATRICIA CREWS. Wild By Design: Two Hundred Years of Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 2003. Filled with fantastic and colorful quilt designs, this fine art book provides a wealth of inspiration from modern quilt artists.
DUKE, DENNIS AND DEBORAH HARDING. America's Glorious Quilts. China: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., 1987. An oversized coffee-table book, this publication is chock full of quilt patterns that lend themselves quite nicely to pysanky designs. I include it here not as the "best" book of quilt patterns but as an example of the kind of book of photos that inspire endless geometric designs.
GILLON, EDMUND. Geometric Design and Ornament. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1969.
HESSEMER, F.M. Historic Designs and Patterns in Color From Arabic and Italian Sources. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1990. Presented in full color are fabulous mosaics and tiled patterns from Italy and Northern Africa.
JONES, OWEN. The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates From the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Designs. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1987. Classic collection of patterns from nearly every culture and period in history; an endless source of inspiration for pysanky designs.
MACCARTHY, MARY. The Crafter's Pattern Sourcebook. North Pomfret, Vermont: Trafalgar Square Publishing, 1999. I just LOVE this book! It contains a little bit of everything, with simplified patterns from almost every culture and historical epoch that are easy to copy.
MEEHAN, AIDAN. Celtic Design: Knotwork: The Secret Methods of the Scribes. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1991. Detailed illustrations and step-by-step instructions unravel the mysterious Celtic knot. The best book on drawing knots I have ever found.
SPERO, JAMES, Editor. Decorative Patterns From Historic Sources. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1986.
VAN ROOJEN, PEPIN. Batik Patterns. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: The Pepin Press, 2002. Batik lends itself to pysanky particularly well, although the color range is limited. The book includes a CD that provides all the designs, which makes copying and adapting them much easier.
WILSON, EVA. Islamic Designs for Artists and Craftspeople. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1988.
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What countries are famous for pysanky?
Pysanky are, by definition, Ukrainian Easter eggs, so Ukraine is famous for pysanky. Pysanky are also made in the diaspora (by emigrants), particularly in the USA, Canada and Brazil.
Which country did the Pysanky eggs originate?
Maine i dont know where did it come from :))
What are pysanky eggs used for?
Almost all bird eggs are suitable for pysanky. Non-white eggs, such as Rhea or Emu, require special techniques, but can still be used for pysanky. Chicken, Duck and Goose eggs are most commmonly used. They require no special preparation, only simple cleaning to remove dirt. Ostrich eggs have a heavy glossy outer coat with amny irregularities. They are usually sanded to a smooth finish before using. Rhea and Emu shells come in shades of dark green to light green. The light green shades can be dyed without removing the outer shell. To use the dark green shells one would have to remove the top layer by etching or sanding. Finch eggshells can be used, but they are fragile to the touch. Pigeon eggs tend to be oily and do not dye well. Parakeet shells are the best if you want to make tiny pysanky.
What is the best way to display pysanky?
There are many ways to display pysanky, but you should never to display them in direct sunlight. Aniline dyes will fade when placed in prolonged sunlight, making your pysanka dull and drab. (It's probably a good idea to keep the eggs out of any strong direct light to avoid fading.) Also, if the pysanka hasn't been emptied, the heat from the sun or other light source could cause the gases within it to expand and the egg to explode. Pysanky are small works of art, and should be treated as such. They may be displayed in baskets or bowls, in individual egg holders, hung from a stand, or placed in specially made display cabinets. If you have many pysanky to display and not enough room, then a riser might be useful.
What country has the strongest tradition of Pysanky egg coloring in Easter?
"Pysanka" is a Ukrainian word, so the creation of pysanky is most common in Ukraine. Other countries, especially Slavic ones, also have traditions of wax resist egg decoration, but give it different names.
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What does Pysanky mean?
The word "Pysankа" is Ukrainian, and comes from the word "pysaty (писати)," which means "to write." Pysanky (plural) are eggs that have been written rather than just dyed. They are created by a process of wax-resist (aka batik). Pysanky are quite beautiful and and can be quite intricately decorated. They have a rich and ancient history associated with spring (and, in more recent times, Easter). Traditional pysanka designs have been passed along for many generations, and possibly thousands of years. Many pysankary (pysanka artists) both in Ukraine and the world over create wax resist that depart from the traditional colors and patterns, but are often still referred to by that word "pysanka." To see a list of Pysanka FAQs, check out the WikiAnswer "Pysanky Egg Art" section, which is categorized under Hobbies and Collectibles/Arts and Crafts. To see examples of pysanky, and to learn how to make them, see the list of "Related Links" in the following section.
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William Swan Sonnenschein has written: 'The best books' 'The best books' 'A Bibliography of Geography: Being the Sections Relating to that Subject in the Best Books and ..' -- subject(s): Accessible book 'The best books'
What has the author Joan Brander written?
Joan Brander has written: 'About the pysanka--it is written!' -- subject(s): Pysanky, Bibliography
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