What would you think if you caught a fish that could talk? And after talking with you, it said it would grant you whatever you wanted if you threw it back to sea. What kind of wish or wishes would you have? This is how the Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish begins. It is a story that has many versions in folktales across Europe. This particular version is Russian and is written by one of Russia's most beloved writers, Alexander Pushkin. The story is written in the original  Russian and...

A charming folk story ingeniously adapted by translator Sian Valvis from a traditional tale told in the Pomor (northern Russia) dialect. Beautifully illustrated by Dovile Ciapaite.The Magic Ring is a traditional folktale that was rewritten by the writer Boris Shergin in the 1930s. Translator Sian Valvis has translated and adapted the text, written in Pomor, a northern Russian, dialect which survived despite attempts to suppress it during the Soviet period. Creating her own version mixing nort...

From beloved Finland-based children’s author Anna Anisimova comes a heartwarming, beautifully illustrated chapter book about a blind girl who joyfully explores her environment using her senses and vivid imagination, inviting young readers to understand their surroundings in new ways. For the young heroine of The Invisible Elephant, the world is a thrilling place full of sounds, smells and sensations. She encounters her surroundings with joy and an impressively creative imagination. In four ch...

20th-century Russian history comes to life through six generations of a family in their Moscow apartment The Apartment: A Century of Russian History explains the true history of 20th-century Russia through the fictitious story of a Moscow family and their apartment. The Muromtsev family have been living in the same apartment for more than a century, generation after generation. Readers are taken through different rooms and witness how each generation actually lived alongside the larger social...

Vera and her family live on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, a place that feels like the edge of the world itself. Lucas and his family also say they live on the edge of the world, but their home is thousands of miles away on the coast of Chile. Vera spends her days devouring fantasy books, throwing balls to her dog, and longing for a friend who would care about the treasures she’s hidden underneath the alder bush. Lucas spends his days looking for fossils, playing solo games of soccer, and wish...

Russia in 1938 is a place of great terror. Joseph Stalin is in charge. His Secret Police are everywhere, searching for anyone who might be his enemy. People have no idea who they can trust.Seven-year-old Shura doesn't know about any of this. He's happy in his little home in Leningrad going to school in the mornings, playing with his best friend in the afternoon, fighting with his big sister, spending time with his Mama, Papa and baby brother Bobka.Until one day everything changes.Mama and Pap...

This book tells the story of the postman Zephyr, who lives in a little blue village in the mountains where nothing ever changes. A dreamer hoping for adventures, he travels on a cloud, embarking on a fantastic airborne journey that takes him to distant and colourful lands. Eventually Zephyr falls to earth and meets a beautiful young woman. Together they return to the postman's home village which is now transformed in Zephyr's eyes and begin their exciting new life together. Inspired by Chagal...

Perfect for fans of Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls, and with beautiful colour illustrations throughout, Cappy and The Whale is a unique and wonderful Ukrainian story which Puffin are proud to publish in English for the very first time.One morning I glanced out the window and saw a whale floating in the sky. The whale was blue and grey, large and clumsy, yet he was just rolling along and gliding on the warm sunny breeze with surprising grace.When eight-year-old Cappy discovers a whale swimming...

'The early Soviet period was a miraculously rich time for children’s books and their illustration' – Philip Pullman   A boy wants a toy horse big enough to ride, but where can his father find it? Not in the stores, which means it’s got to be built from scratch. How? With the help of expert workers, from the carpenter to the painter, working together as one. And now the bold boy is ready to ride off in defence of the future!Two trams, Click and Zam, are cousins. Click goes out for a day on the...

Pushkin House Staff Picks (February 2022) ‘The latest addition to my 2-year-old's Anglo-Russian library is a contemporary adaptation of the famous Russian folk tale Kolobok. The first time my husband read it to Oskar I could hear him gasp from the other room. For him it is like a thriller. Will Kolobok ever be free? Will he survive? Each altercation with the enemy is accompanied by a close-up illustration of the 'villain's' face: the hare, the bear, the wolf. Oskar sighs in relief – Kolobok ...