Irina ZheleznovaAnmeldelser

Includes The White Duck.

A beautiful and virtuous young maiden asks her father for the feather of Fenist the Falcon in this marvelous Russian fairy-tale, and is eventually given her wish. This item summons the actual Fenist to her side, and the two become lovers, meeting at night. When Fenist is injured through the machinations of the maiden's jealous sisters, and disappears, she must set out through the world to find him. With the aid of the three Baba Yaga sisters, she eventually reaches her destination in the Thrice-Nine Tsardom the Thrice-Ten Realm, wearing out three pairs of iron shoes and three iron staffs, and eating three loaves of rock bread along the way. Once in this far-off seaside realm, the maiden must free Fenist from the enchantment of his seeming bride, using the gifts given to her by the Baba Yagas...

The Feather of Finist the Falcon is a traditional Russian tale originally collected by Alexander Afanasyev is his Russian Folk Tales, published from 1855 through 1863. It is considered a variant of the 'Bird Lover' tale type - no. 432 in the Aarne–Thompson-Uther folklore classification system - although it also bears striking resemblance to the Norwegian tale, East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon, which in Aarne-Thompson-Uther is an example of tale type 425A, the search for the lost husband. Leaving that aside, this is a wonderful story, full of magic and excitement, danger and true love. This edition was published in Moscow in 1977, for the English-language market (it was translated by the prolific Irina Zheleznova), and contains the breathtakingly gorgeous artwork of Ivan Bilibin. Recommended to all young folk and fairy-tale lovers, and to anyone who appreciates beautiful folk-art illustration.

This large format, softcover book is about 9" by 12". The illustrations are outstanding. The Russian fairy tale, The White Duck, has been re-told in English by Trina Zheleznova. It was published by Goznak, in Moscow, in 1977. It has 12 pages and several lovely illustrations that are signed by a Russian artist and dated 1901. Fine condition.

Beautifully illustrated (by Ivan Bilibin, which is oddly not mentioned in this edition) translation of a Russian fairy tale analogous to the more familiar (in the West) Norwegian "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," but more dissimilar from the Cupid & Psyche myth. "Fenist" is more straightforwardly moral than "East" - I find the redemptive storyline of "East," where the heroine's own curiosity is responsible for her separation from her lover, both more troubling and more interesting - but features the bonus of Baba Yaga appearing as a helpful witch. With regard to the rich, woodsy illustrations, I can't help noting if I had read this version as a child, I would only have been disappointed that the book didn't end with a picture of the reunited couple (elaborately dressed, of course!) at their wedding.

Originally published in 1981 by Kiev-based Dnipro Publishers, this massive collection of Ukrainian folktales features seventy-eight stories, varying in both length and style, from brief animal fables to lengthier legends and folk-epics. Translated by Irina Zheleznova, who seems to have worked for most of the major publishing houses of the former Soviet Union, they make an excellent introduction to the folklore of the Ukraine.

Enthusiasts will immediately recognize many of these stories, some of which can be already be found under my "ukrainian folklore" tag. The Magic Mitten, in which a series of woodland creatures make a temporary home in a lost mitten, has been retold many times, from Jan Brett's popular The Mitten, to the more obscure, mitten-shaped adaptation by Tom Botting. The Little Straw Bull with the Tarred Back, in which a tar-covered straw bull helps an impoverished older couple change their fortune, has been retold, also by Irina Zheleznova, as The Little Straw Bull. Sir Cat-o-Puss, in which a former house-cat takes a fox for his mate, and, through a series of humorous misunderstandings, convinces the other woodland creatures that he is a fierce fighter, has appeared in picture-book form as Mister Cat-and-a-Half. Finally, The Honest Nephew and the Dishonest Uncle, in which a young man and his uncle debate whether honesty or dishonesty is rewarded, seems to be a variant of a tale also found in Carole Kismaric's powerful The Rumor of Pavel & Paali.

I saw the influence of Aesop in many of the animal fables, particularly selections such as The Fox and the Crane and The Heron, the Fish and the Crayfish. Others, such as The Frog Princess and The Flying Ship, were already familiar to me through similar stories from the Russian tradition. Many of the tales were variations on a theme, with as many as three versions of the same basic story all appearing in the collection. The Fire-Bird and the Wolf and The Iron Wolf are clearly from the same tale-type, as are Ivanko, Tsar of the Beasts; The Greedy Old Woman and the Lime Tree; and The Brother, the Sister and the Devil-Dragon.

I enjoyed this collection, and found it most informative, particularly as it concerns the connections between the folklore of the Ukraine and her various neighbors. I was a little dismayed at the number of false women depicted, particularly sisters, and the cheerful way in which violence against them was incorporated into the tales. There were one of two heroines, such as Marusya in The Clever Maid, but men were usually the more interesting characters. Be that as it may, this was still a very worthwhile read, particularly for those with an interest in the subject.

I really had no idea that this simple Ukrainian folktale, in which a lost mitten serves as the temporary home for an ever-increasing number of woodland animals, was so popular! But since joining goodreads a little more than a year ago, it has become apparent to me that it is much favored by those who adapt folktales for children. American readers will probably be most familiar with Jan Brett's colorful picture book, The Mitten, although they might also have come across Alvin Tresselt's 1964 version, bearing the same name. I myself have, in my collection, a lovely little mitten-shaped retelling, with text by Tom Botting and illustrations by E. Bulatov and O. Vasiliev.

This edition, printed in the former Soviet Union by the Moscow-based Foreign Languages Publishing House, pairs E. Rachev's engaging, folk-art illustrations with a charming text. Not usually my favorite tale, The Old Man's Mitten nevertheless won me over, particularly when I saw that all the animals had clever, alliterative names like Crunch-Munch the Mouse, Hop-Stop the Frog, Fleet-Feet the Rabbit, and Smily-Wily the Fox. It's a shame that this version is so very difficult to obtain, as I think it would probably be the most fun to read aloud.

An impoverished old couple find that their fortune changes for the better, when the woman requests that her husband make her a little straw bull, covered in tar. This unusual "livestock" helps to capture a bear, wolf and fox, each of whom bargains for his freedom by promising certain blessings in exchange...

Printed in 1974, by Moscow-based Progress Publishers, The Little Straw Bull is one of many picture-books published in the former Soviet Union, meant to present the folklore of that country to the English-speaking world. Although I am generally quite enthusiastic when encountering an unfamiliar folktale, this title left me feeling rather indifferent. I'm glad to add it to my store of knowledge, but I couldn't say that I particularly enjoyed it, either for the story, or for Haikin's illustrations.

Published in the former Soviet Union, and illustrated with the gorgeous folk-motif art of Ivan Bilibin, this beautiful picture book contains two Russian folktales from the collection of the poet Alexandr Pushkin.

In Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka, two orphaned siblings somehow find themselves living with the Tsar - Alyonushka as his wife, and the enchanted Ivanushka as their pet goat. When an evil witch sinks Alyonushka in the sea and takes her place, Ivanushka the goat must find a way to communicate with the tsar...

The White Duck also features an evil witch intent on taking the heroine's place, transforming a beautiful princess into a white duck in order to make the substitution. When the princess' three sons - hatched out of three golden eggs - are also threatened by the witch, the white duck must try to protect them...

Although Pushkin retold many traditional Russian tales in verse, these Goznak editions present prose stories, and are both highly readable and visually engaging.

When Ivan's father, Tsar Demyan, commands him to keep watch for the thief who has been stealing his golden apples, the young tsarevitch encounters the Fire-bird, and is soon dispatched on a quest to find this wondrous creature. Befriended by a loyal and clever grey wolf, whose advices he seems incapable of following, Ivan discovers that he must locate the Horse with a Golden Mane in order to obtain the Fire-bird, and the princess Yelena the Beautiful in order to obtain the horse. Naturally, when Ivan is loathe to part with any of these treasures, it is the grey wolf who saves the day...

Taken from the collection of Alexandr Pushkin, a poet who retold many traditional tales, this story from the Russian folk tradition is one of many variants in which a young prince seeks the fabulous Fire-bird. This edition, printed by Goznak during the days of the Soviet Union, is illustrated with Ivan Bilibin's gorgeous folk-motif artwork. Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf, with its engaging narrative and beautiful illustrations, is sure to delight anyone interested in Russian folk culture, or folklore in general.

When a young prince inadvertently allows his three sisters to be abducted, he is banished from the kingdom, wandering the world until he meets up with each of them again. Learning of the various enchantments that bind their husbands, the prince vows to find the Sun Princess, who alone can free them from their bondage. At first a prisoner in her palace, the prince and the Sun Princess fall in love, only to be parted when the prince's curiosity frees a terrible giant, who then kidnaps his beloved. Now a new quest lies before him...

This detailed retelling of a Lithuanian folk epic was fascinating, if somewhat uneven. Perhaps it is a weakness in the translation, The Sun Princess and Her Deliverer being printed by the Moscow-based Progress Publishers, but the sequence of events was not always clear to me. The prince's three sisters are supposedly kidnapped by a dragon, but no mention is made of their abductor when he meets up with them again years later. He seeks the Sun Princess in order to free his brothers-in-law, but his quest is utterly forgotten, until the very end of the story.

But despite these inconsistencies, I enjoyed both the story and the stylized illustrations by A. Makunaite. There are many references here to ancient Lithuanian mythology, from the witch Laume, to the Sun Princess herself, who is clearly meant to represent the goddess Saule. In fascinating contrast to the more patriarchal Greek norms, which assigned masculinity to the sun (Apollo), and femininity to the moon (Artemis), the Lithuanian pantheon included a sun goddess (Saule), and a moon god (Menulis). Well worth the time, for anyone interested in Lithuanian or Baltic folklore, though how the reader might obtain a copy, is another question altogether.

Published by Moscow-based Malysh Publishers in 1981, this picture-book collection presents eleven folktale from Ukraine, each retold by a different storyteller, and all translated by the prolific Irina Zheleznova. One of a number of English-language publications I own, from the former Soviet Union - printed for export? for tourists? I honestly am not sure - it contains tales both familiar and unfamiliar, including:

The titular The Wheat Stalk, retold by S. Mogilevskaya, in which two lazy mice, Hurry and Scurry, let the cock Silver Throat do all the work of making pies - threshing the wheat stalk he finds, having it ground into flour, and baking the pies - and find that he intends to do all the eating as well! An interesting variant on the classic tale of The Little Red Hen, which had me wondering if the alliterative names I often see in Zheleznova's translations come from the original stories, or from her translation of them.

How a Fox Helped a Cat Buy a Pair of Boots, retold by G. Petnikov, in which a cat is initially taken in by a cunning fox, who threatens to kill him, unless he helps the fox buy a pair of boots. The fortuitous arrival on the scene of the dog Brysko helps set all to rights, however.

The very brief (single page) The Lamb and the Wolf, also retold by G. Petnikov, in which a sly lamb outwits the wolf who intends to eat her, convincing him that he needs to "clean his paws" in a nearby trap.

The Little Straw Bull, a third story retold by G. Petnikov, in which an Old Man and Old Woman find themselves the happy recipients of many blessings, when their tar-covered straw bull "captures" a number of animals - a bear, a wolf, a fox, and a rabbit - each of which bargains for his freedom by promising certain gifts in return. This tale can also be found by itself, in the picture-book The Little Straw Bull, which happens also to be translated by Zheleznova.

The Singing Wolf and the Singing Fox, retold by L. Gribova, in which two canid friends present themselves at the house of an elderly couple, singing the same song - "What a fine house this with its roof of straw, / One more fine and rich we never saw" - and receiving as a reward a different animal each time; until finally, the Old Man becoming fed up (and dismayed at the loss of all his livestock), they find themselves being "given" Levontovich the dog.

Sir Cat-O-Puss, retold by E. Blaginina, in which an abandoned old house-cat finds himself married to Little Sister Fox, and, through a series of accidents and misunderstandings, has Bear, Wolf, Boar and Rabbit convinced that he is a very fierce creature indeed! This story has also been retold by famed Russian translator Richard Pevear, in the picture-book Mister Cat-and-a-Half.

The Polecat, retold by E. Blaginina, in which a chicken-thieving polecat finds himself getting a thorough beating (and a terrible scare) when the Old Man from whom he has been stealing - aided by a pumpkin peel, a strip of bast, a stick, an acorn, and a crayfish - pays him a visit.

The classic (and well-known) tale of The Mitten, also retold by E. Blaginina, in which a series of woodland creatures, all with alliterative names - Crunch-Munch the Mouse, Hop-Stop the Frog, Fleet-Feet the Rabbit, Smily-Wily the Fox - take up residence in a lost mitten. This story has been told many times, although this particular version, with these particular animal names, can also be found in Zheleznova's The Old Man's Mitten. Other adaptations include Jan Brett's The Mitten, Alvin Tresselt's The Mitten: An Old Ukrainian Folktale, the recent Aylesworth/McClintock The Mitten, and Tom Botting's mitten-shaped The Mitten: A Ukrainian Fairy-Tale, published (as was this volume) by Moscow-based Malysh.

The Fox, the Pumpkin Shell, the Fiddle, and the Trap, retold by G. Petnikov, in which a fox "drowns" both a pumpkin shell and a fiddle, because she doesn't approve of the sounds they make, only to find that she becomes caught in a different kind of trap. This one was... odd - I'm not sure I really understood it.

The Bun, the Bull, the Fox and the Wolf, retold by G. Petnikov, in which a little round bun runs away from the Old Woman who made him, is gobbled down by Sister Fox, whose wood-carrying sleigh is then broken by Brother Wolf. This oddly disjointed selection seems like an amalgam of a number of different tales, joining together The Little Round Bun and Sister Fox and Brother Wolf, both of which can be found in Dnipro Publishers' 1985 collection, Ukrainian Folk Tales, translated by (who else?) Irina Zheleznova.

And finally, Serko, retold by G. Petnikov, in which an older dog is abandoned by his human master, only to be rescued by a wolf, who concocts a plan (involving a fake attack on the baby of the house) to get the dog back into his human's good graces. This story can also be found in Eric Kimmel's Sirko and the Wolf: A Ukrainian Tale.

All in all, an enjoyable collection, despite the fact that Y. Rachov's illustrations did not greatly appeal to me. Anyone interested in the Ukrainian folk tradition will appreciate this collection, although its high picture-to-text ratio make it more appropriate for younger readers, I think.

Fantastic full-page illustrations in glorious bright colours, in a folk art style that can appeal to young and not-so-young alike. A must for lovers of folk art, and Eastern European art.

This large format, softcover book is about 9" by 12". The illustrations are outstanding. The Russian fairy tale, Fenist The Falcon, has been re-told in English by Trina Zheleznova. It was published by Goznak, in Moscow, in 1977. It has 12 pages and several lovely illustrations that are signed by a Russian artist and dated 1900 Fine condition.