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soniek's review against another edition
4.0
Had finally got hold of one children's book published in the USSR in the '70s. This book has 5 traditional Russian & Slavic folk tales which has similarities with the more popular European ones, especially Grimm's Fairy Tales, yet distinct Russian elements. It also contains beautiful illustrations by the famous Russian artist Igor Yershov, and exquisite black & white borders in each page.
Like any other fairy tale, the stories are magical & transport the reader to another world. And they give a glimpse to the unique lifestyle of old Russia (I recently learnt from Tolstoy that it was common for the poor in Russia to sleep on top of stoves to keep warm! Igor's illustrations in Fire - Bird elaborated it visually.) The tales, despite being aimed for children perhaps, are not preachy or moralistic, and are unusually violent. And yet some good is rewarded & evil is punished, while often the protagonists themselves are grey.
Overall, the quaintness of the tales & the illustrations make this book worth reading. Personally I grew up reading Soviet children's books which were in abundance in India back then. So while this one's not the same book am looking for, it's from the same background & history, and hence goes straight into my personal collection.
Like any other fairy tale, the stories are magical & transport the reader to another world. And they give a glimpse to the unique lifestyle of old Russia (I recently learnt from Tolstoy that it was common for the poor in Russia to sleep on top of stoves to keep warm! Igor's illustrations in Fire - Bird elaborated it visually.) The tales, despite being aimed for children perhaps, are not preachy or moralistic, and are unusually violent. And yet some good is rewarded & evil is punished, while often the protagonists themselves are grey.
Overall, the quaintness of the tales & the illustrations make this book worth reading. Personally I grew up reading Soviet children's books which were in abundance in India back then. So while this one's not the same book am looking for, it's from the same background & history, and hence goes straight into my personal collection.
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