Abdul Abul-bul Amir & Ivan Skavinsky Skavar (1969-05-03)

"Abdul Abul-bul Amir" is the most common name for a music-hall song written in 1877 (during the Russo-Turkish War) under the title "Abdulla Bulbul Ameer" by Percy French, and subsequently popularized by a variety of other writers and performers. It tells the story of two valiant heroes - the titular Abdulla, fighting for the Turks, and his foe (originally named Ivan Potschjinsky Skidar in French's version), a Russian warrior - who encounter one another, engage in verbal boasting, and are drawn into a duel in which both perish. There is a message for all the world's superpowers in this classic confrontation of two ferocious fighters. Here, by the talented new artist-adapter of Nicolai Gogol's "Fair At Sorochintsi", is a boisterous portrayal of what happens when a perfect balance of fighting power is achieved. Each conqueror is confident that his is right, each knows that he is invincible, and both are furiously angry. En Garde! The words to the song are the words to the book and they are illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray (b. 1940), a children's author and illustrator who studied painting and printmaking at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Musical accompaniments by Paul Kauriga for piano and guitar follow the text.