“A Hundred Years of Childhood is a unique anthology of Russian children’s literature both in its temporal scope and in its selection of poetic and prose texts. High-quality translation considers all of the nuances the English-speaking reader will encounter as they become familiar with these texts. The editors of this collection were able to show what tasks—genre, aesthetic, and social—the literature set for itself throughout the centuries. The anthology is a priceless resource for researchers—historians, cultural studies scholars, and literary scholars—but it is equally interesting to a wide circle of readers, for whom the translation serves as a bridge to understanding another culture.”

—Dr. Marina Balina, Isaac Funk Professor Emerita of Russian Studies. Illinois Wesleyan University

“Despite its academic appeal, this anthology of the last one hundred years of Russian children’s literature has a very good chance of becoming a book that you will read to your children and grandchildren before bedtime, and that they will secretly read after you put them to bed. There are three reasons for this. It is filled with true gems handpicked by editors from the rich legacy of Soviet children’s literature. It is enhanced by the best examples of post-Soviet writings for children. It is conveyed into English by truly congenial translations. All in all, these texts will make you and your kids laugh and think about the most interesting and serious things in the world—from games and toys to revolutions, nature, family, school, friends, history and the future. Teaching classes with this book will be a sheer pleasure for students and professors alike. I envy them already.”

—Dr. Mark Lipovetsky, Professor and Chair, Department of Slavic Languages. Columbia University

“Across the one-hundred-year period that began with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, children’s literature written in Russian has encapsulated the hopes and aspirations of a far-flung society caught in a maelstrom of social and political change. This thoughtfully curated treasury of writings in translation by thirty-six notable authors for young people immerses readers in a deeply serious and often exhilarating literary tradition that, in all its many moods and permutations, has continually homed in on the core concerns that fuel children’s imaginations.” 

—Dr. Leonard S. Marcus, Children’s book historian and critic

“A Hundred Years of Childhood: An Anthology of Russian Writing for Children, 1917-2017 is an insightfully framed collection of charming stories and poems from the Russian-speaking world that bring moments from one hundred tumultuous years of history into sharp focus through the lens of children’s literature. The array of poems and stories selected for the collection speak powerfully for themselves through varied, charming, and inspired new translations that grant access to these stories for contemporary English-speaking audiences. At the same time, the carefully curated anthology richly situates authors and illustrators within their own complex contexts and also includes imagery from original book publications in a variety of styles. This anthology will appeal to popular audiences of all ages and will prove a useful tool for teaching Russian-language children’s literature and culture in English-speaking contexts.”

—Dr. Sara Pankenier Weld, Professor, Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies. University of California, Santa Barbara

“Thanks to this new book, one hundred years of Russian children’s literature comes alive in sparkling English translation. Olga Bukhina, Kelly Herold, and Andrea Lanoux contextualize Soviet and post-Soviet texts with helpful and intelligent introductions. Beloved classics and exciting new voices in Russian children’s literature can all be found here—and enjoyed by parents, children, teachers, and students.”

—Dr. Megan Swift, Professor of Russian Studies. University of Victoria

Olga Bukhina is a translator, writer, and children’s literature specialist who has translated over forty books for children and teens. In addition, she is the co-author of Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991–2017 (Brill-Schøningh 2022, Russian translation by Bukhina, 2024), as well as the author of Zhizn’ i smert’: Samye vaznye voprosy detskoi literatury (Life and Death: The Most Important Issues in Children’s Literature, KompasGid 2024).

Kelly Herold is a professor of Russian at Grinnell College, where she teaches courses on Tolstoy, Nabokov, the Russian novel and short story, fairy tales, children’s literature, as well as the Russian language. She is the co-author of Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991–2017 (English, 2022; Russian translation by Olga Bukhina, 2024).

Andrea Lanoux holds the Elizabeth S. Kruidenier ’48 endowed professorship in Slavic Studies at Connecticut College. Her research focuses on Russian children’s literature (Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991–2017, co-authored with Olga Bukhina and Kelly Herold), as well as women and gender in Slavic cultures (Gender and National Identity in Russian Culture, co-edited with Helena Goscilo, 2006). She teaches Russian language at all levels, as well as courses in Slavic studies, global studies, and an undergraduate research seminar on Ukraine.

Acknowledgments

List of Illustrations

Introduction: The Enduring Power of Children’s Literature in Times of Social Change

Chapter 1. For Fun and Education (1917-1932)

Kornei Chukovsky

“Roach the Terrible” 

Osip Mandelstam 

“Two Trams” 

Vladimir Mayakovsky 

“What Is Good and What Is Bad” 

Vitaly Bianki 

“The Owl”

Samuil Marshak 

“Baggage” 

Daniil Kharms 

“Mr. Golden Samovar” 

“Ivan van Littleaxe” 

Alexander Vvedensky 

“Who?” 

Chapter 2. Heroes and Victims (1933-1953)

Boris Zhitkov

“Yashka” [excerpt]

Nikolai Zabolotsky 

“The Tale of the One-Eyed Little Man” 

Mikhail Zoshchenko 

“The New Year Tree”

“How Lenin Tricked the Police”

Sergei Mikhalkov 

“Uncle Styopa”

Daniil Kharms

“Why Don’t We Write a Story?” 

“A Man Left His House” 

 “Once There Was a Little Man” 

Vitaly Bianki 

“The Little Ant Who Hurried Home” 

Alexey Tolstoy 

The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino [excerpts]

“Carlo Makes a Wooden Doll and Names It Buratino” 

“Buratino Sells His Textbook and Buys a Ticket to the Puppet Show” 

“On His Way Home Buratino Runs into Two Swindlers — Basilio the Cat and Alice the Fox”

Alexander Vvedensky 

“Lullaby”

Agnia Barto

“The House That Moved”

“They Left”

“Off to School”

Chapter 3. Ordinary Children, Extraordinary Lives (1954-1988)

Boris Zakhoder

“Kitty’s Sorrow” 

“Hedgehog” 

“Cooks” 

“No One” 

“The Termite’s Diet” 

Veniamin Kaverin 

Many Good People and One Envious One [excerpts]

“Tanya Sets Out for the Blue Globe Pharmacy”

“Petya Takes a Pill for Cowardice and Becomes Brave”

“The Great Envier”

Agnia Barto 

“Bedtime” 

Alexander Raskin 

“How Papa Chose His Profession” 

Viktor Dragunsky

“The Main Rivers”

Viktor Golyavkin

“On the Balcony” 

Kir Bulychev

“Bronty”

Emma Moshkovskaya

“I Was Very Mean to My Mommy”

“Clever Old Ladies” 

Tales of Little Goat and Little Donkey [excerpt] 

“The Second Tale”

Eduard Uspensky

Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat [excerpts]

Chapter 1. “Uncle Fedya”

Chapter 2. “In the Country”

Chapter 3. “New Worries”

Genrikh Sapgir

“Wonder Woods”

“The Princess and the Ogre” 

Sergei Kozlov

“Hedgehog in the Fog” 

“Hedgehog, Bearcub, and the Dust on the Stars”

Oleg Grigoriev

“Something Crawled onto the Table” 

“My Bicycle Carried Me Away” 

“A Boy Bought Some Bread at the Store” 

Irina Pivovarova 

“We Searched the World Both Far and Wide” 

“When…” 

“Teeny Tiny Pony” 

“The Violin” 

Chapter 4. New Russia, New Stories (1989-2017)

Grigory Oster 

Horrible Advice: A Book for Disobedient Children and Their Caregivers 

[excerpts]

“Caught red-handed by your mother” 

“If you’re racing down the hallway” 

“Your parents have gone out again” 

“Washing hands and knees and toes” 

“When your mom insists on dragging you” 

“Those who’ve not jumped off their roof” 

“Remember kids, if you are lost” 

Mikhail Yasnov 

“Kitty-cat and Ratty-rat” 

“Us and Birds” 

“Autumn Grandpa” 

“A Little Tree with Wings” 

Sergei Sedov

Tales about a Boy Named Alex [excerpts] 

Andrei Usachev

Smart Dog Sonya [excerpts]

“King’s Pooch” 

“Puddle” 

“Hello, Thank You, Goodbye!” 

“How Sonya Learned about Electricity” 

“The Stain” 

“How Sonya Lost Everything” 

Ludmilla Petrushevskaya 

Piglet Peter Drives a Car 

Piglet Peter at the Store

Artur Givargizov

Notes of a Distinguished F Student [excerpts] 

“The Faculty Meeting” 

“A Missed Lesson” 

“How Sergei Lost all Respect on September 9, in Gym Class” 

Generals [excerpts]

“A General Divulging Military Secrets” 

“A General Reviewing His Troops” 

“A General on an Island” 

Dina Sabitova

Circus in a Treasure Box [excerpts]

Chapter 1: “How the Carouselli Circus Lost Its Clown, and Adelaida the Horse Lost Her Éclair”

Chapter 8: “How Marik Nearly Met His End but Was Saved”

Mikhail Esenovsky 

The Essential Spy Question [excerpts] 

Narine Abgaryan 

Semion Andreich: The Scribble Chronicles [excerpts]

“Semion Andreich Celebrates a Birthday” 

“Semion Andreich and the Sound sh” 

“Semion Andreich Goes Skiing” 

Masha Rupasova 

“In the Old Days” 

“I Am News” 

“Jam” 

“Great-grandmother” 

Anastasia Orlova

This Is Truck, and This Is Trailer 

Translators’ Biographies

Alphabetical List of Authors and Titles in Russian

Additional Resources

Bibliography

List of Copyrights