During the 1920s, avant-garde Russian authors and artists worked with fervent dedication to create a new type of children’s literature, drawing on both the aesthetic innovations of the period and contemporary social and political philosophy to inspire and stimulate young minds. This whimsical children’s picture book is one of numerous remarkable collaborations between artist and illustrator Vladimir Lebedev and poet, translator and children’s writer Samuil Marshak, many of which are now in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. This volume reproduces the original book in size, shape and layout, with new English translations in place of the Russian and an accompanying text by curator Sarah Suzuki. The dynamic graphic compositions and playful rhyming texts remain as compelling today as they were nearly a century ago.
