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.

Baggage

Marshak, Samuil

Lebedev, Vladimir

Reference

The Museum of Modern Art, New York

“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.

The Circus and Other Stories

Children's Books

Tate

Life with Granny Kandiki, In the Van, Little Fly So Sprighhtly

Chukovsky, Kornei

Garf, Anna

Literature & Fiction

Insight Publica

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Books by Marshak, Samuil