The Circus and Other Stories - Hardcover

Marshak, Samuil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849761027 ISBN 13: 9781849761024

Publisher: Tate, 2013

Synopsis

“Ice cream, Strawberry, Peppermint, Lime,
Step this way and stand in line!”
In 1920s Soviet Russia, writer and poet Samuil Marshak and graphic artist Vladimir Lebedev came together to bring the energy and boldness of Russian avant-garde art into children’s publishing. The results of this remarkable collaboration were a series of stunning picture books, four of which are collected and reproduced in full here, newly translated, together in one volume for the first time.
The Circus, Ice Cream, How the Plane Made a Plane, and Yesterday and Today are overtly modern and graphically striking. Marshak’s joyful rhymes are visually built into Lebedev’s illustrations, where figures, objects, and even lettering are simplified into brightly colored geometric shapes. The four stories are a wonderful celebration of modern life, and continue to energize and inspire readers decades after their creation.

About this title

About the Author:

Samuil Marshak (1887–1964) was a prominent writer, translator, critic, publisher, and children’s poet in Soviet Russia. Vladimir Lebedev (1891–1967) was the most influential pre–World War II Russian children’s book illustrator. A painter and graphic artist working in the avant-garde circles of Kazimir Malevich and Vladimir Tatlin, Lebedev was known for bold experimentation with form and style that set high standards in art created for children. Olga Mäeots is librarian at the Russian State Library in the foreign literature department, and head of the children’s book department.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 1-4–The “stories” in this title are really four poems: “The Circus,” “Ice Cream,” “Yesterday and Today,” and “How the Plane Made a Plane.” Each one was published separately in the 1920s, the result of a famous collaboration between noted avant-garde artists who contributed to what is known as the golden age of Russian children's books. Both writer and artist were also distinguished for their works for adults. The art of Lebedev is a forerunner of World War II poster art, full of angular, colorful shapes. The text in many places does not scan well, as the translator has tried to do justice to both Marshak's style and content, but this will probably not bother children. Perhaps most appealing to young readers will be the first two poems: the first for its stunning posterlike art of the circus–each page of which could stand by itself–and the second, for its particularly imaginative idea of a greedy man buying up all of the ice cream in the seller's cart and, as he eats it, gradually turning into a snowman, to the children's delight. The book will probably appeal to elementary-school children, but its greater attraction may be to those who are interested in the history of children's picture books and the avant-garde movement of that period in Europe.–Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tate
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1849761027
• ISBN 13: 9781849761024
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 76
• Illustrator: Lebedev Vladimir