Russian Fairy Tales

by Gillian Avery

The famous stage-designer Ivan Bilibin was a self-taught artist who was lucky enough to be offered the commission of a lifetime at the very start of his career. In 1899 the Department for the Production of State Documents asked this young Russian artist to illustrate a series of fairy tales, a task that took him four years to complete and inspired his finest work, reflecting his deep love for his country and his passionate interest in its national dress and wooden architecture. This, with ten other traditional tales, make up the collection for which all Bilibin's original artwork has been faithfully reproduced. Gillian Avery has provided a retelling of the texts which admirably complements Bilibin's distinctive illustration, itself rooted in the stylized forms of Russian folk and medieval art.

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Russian Literature, Fiction, Russia, Mythology, Folklore

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 1995

About the author

Gillian Elise Avery was a British children's novelist, and a historian of childhood education and children's literature. She won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972 for A Likely Lad. It was adapted for television in 1990.

Reviews

[Zack Clemmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

big baba yaga guy now.

would travel over three times nine tsardoms for these illustrations.

[Madye Stromboli]

shouts out to ivan bilibin for completely taking over my art brain and helping me make a little more creative sense of something ive been tossing around for years. i read this book just to have context for his work. very beautiful and intricate illustrations that have truly changed the path of my artistry.

also shouts out to baba yaga i am obsessed with you too and the many personalities you take.... ill be seeing more of you im sure....

"They rode on and on. Whether it was a long time or a short time, no one can say, for a tale is told long before a journey is over." lots of the same ideas and lines repeated (sometimes verbatim, sometimes not). interested to see more work inspired from russian folklore.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading the source materials/ inspiration for some of my favorite books.

[David Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This edition by Everyman’s Library series is nicely constructed and has a built-in page marker as always. There are nice illustrations and the translation flows well. Lots of wicked sisters and brothers mistreating a sibling and getting their just desserts in the end, witches that live in mud huts on chicken legs causing mischief, and the protagonists living happily ever after. Fun reads although I’m not sure all are entirely suitable for young children due to the somewhat graphic demise of some of the characters.

[Al'vina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlighted Quotes:

“But a wife is not like a glove. You can’t just shake her off your hand or tuck her behind your belt.”

“Grief is worse at night. Lie down and go to sleep. The morning is wiser than the evening.”

Overall: 4/5

[I · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible illustrations

[Aggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a read aloud with my son. He really likes Russian fairytales.

I thought they were all right; they do get repetitive, I find.

[Bookish]

I came across this beautifully rendered collection of Russian fairy tales, quite by accident, while looking for a book that would suit as a gift. I couldn’t tell at first as it was shelved in between two other books with its cover concealed, but as soon as I pulled it out I saw a cover which begged to be opened. Ivan Bilibin’s illustrations - starting with his cover piece - add a special magical something to this volume, at times making up for Gillian Avery’s overly British translation.

The fairy tales themselves were entertaining to read, and mostly served as a reminder to keep any prospective children away from fairy tales. Talk about damaging, gender-normative tropes - yikes. The boys get to do all the exploring and adventuring, and the girls get to sew, bake, and be ‘good’. And cry, of course. Our female protagonists/beauties are often treated badly by evil stepmothers and ugly stepsisters (no shortage of either here) and have no recourse but to suffer until freed by their male counterparts, usually with a dash of magic. Even “Marya Morevna, the warrior princess” needed to be rescued by her idiot husband who got her into that bind in the first place. Ugh.

As unsurprising (and frustrating) as the tropes were, reading the tales in a non-academic context was pure fun - Baba Yaga’s, Frog Tsarevna’s, Firebirds, and giants took me away to a land far, far, away. It was exactly what I needed, and Ivan Bilibin helped my imagination along with his gorgeous illustrations. And not for nothing, but I could definitely see myself sussing out different translations or just different Russian fairy tales. Rehashing the usual old ones gets a little tiring.

[Christina Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Russian Fairy Tales, I'd highly recommend this gorgeous collection! I read it with my 13 year old kids, and we loved it! The book is beautifully made, especially the colorful and detailed illustrations. Nordic and Russian fairy tales are my favorite so I was especially enchanted by this book! Highly recommended.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The telling of these tales is okay - as others have remarked, the form of all these stories is basically the same, but the illustrations by Bilibin are great, even if the colors are apparently not what they should be.

[Trey]

I got into fairy tales a few years back and started reading all the old fairy tale books I could get my hands on. This one was a particular favorite. It's great bedtime reading.

[Chelsea Rapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my quest to collect all of the books in the Everyman’s Library Children’s Collection, my brother bought this for me for Christmas last year. I really enjoyed my time reading this collection of Russian fairy tales. I’m not overly familiar with them and really don’t know too much about Russia as a whole. The artwork was fantastic and one of my favorite parts of the book. This book does have classic fairy tale ideals where the females are the damsels and the boys are the heroes. When I know it’s a classic and something from generations and generations before my time, I’m not as bothered. It’s hard to pick but I think my favorite story was 'Tsarvich Ivan, the Firebird and the Grey Wolf'. I did for the most part really enjoy my time reading this story and I think it’s my second favorite read of January.

Short Stories and Fairy Tales- MVP too hard to pick so I’m skipping for this book.

[Brianna Cornell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of Russian fairy tales has so much character and charm. The Baba Yagas, the impossibly long journeys, the role that nature plays—everything harmoniously joins in such beautiful and interesting ways. The quote from Alexander Pushkin that begins the collection says it best: “There are marvels there: the wood-sprite roams, a mermaid sits in the branches; there are tracks of strange animals on mysterious paths; a hut on hen’s legs stands there, without windows or doors; forest and vale are full of visions . . . there is a Russian odour there—it smells of Russia!” I definitely felt like I was inhaling Russia while reading this and it was delightful.

These stories are unlike most of the fairy tales I grew up with, which makes them so fascinating to read. The fact that I get to add this to my collection of Everyman’s editions brings me so much joy. 🥹

[Natalie Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

A case where the book just didn't match my expectations. I was wanting to read something on Russian folklore, and had this one sitting on my shelves, so I gave it a shot and found out that fairy tales do not equal folklore. A lot of them seemed like re-tellings of Grimm brothers' works, so I did a little google research and yes they actually are - with a Russian twist. Noticeable differences: focus on food, a little more violence, and being rewarded for being tricky (sometimes bordering on cheating, but always seen as clever and better than those who are easily fooled). My favorite recurring character is the witch Baba Yaga, who made me laugh in every story she appeared in. And the illustrations were beautiful. Still on my search for folklore - looking for the really old stuff.

[Rosalynde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like the French/German/English fairy tales I've grown up with, Russian fairy tales are often just a slight variation of another. Siblings are not to be trusted: women are jealous of their prettier sisters, and men are jealous of their successful brothers. Baba Yagas disguise themselves as Tsarevnas (princesses) to steal their royal husbands or tricking passersby with the eventual plan of eating them. Once you've read a couple of the stories, you've pretty much read them all.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been wanting to read this for sometime when it was gifted to me. A refreshing an unique change to the classic tales we all know and love. There were certainly similarities in some of the tales but with their own unique twists.

I am curious to read more Russian Fairy Tales and see if other authors are in a similar style.

[Owen Peak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this collection of Russian fairytales. They were such a melting pot of the macabre and the fantastical and, as a result, were incredibly entertaining. It was fascinating seeing their links to some Western European fairytales yet how the stories all have their own unique elements, like their countless animals, enchanted objects and Baba Yaga. The illustrations are also fabulous!

[Tushar Ahire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations by Ivan Bilibin are awesome. I wish the book was of extra large size with glossy papers. It would have made it a treasure. Stories are well translated, Russian names dont bother you much.

[Serge ♆ Neptune · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Lovely illustrations.

Several of these faery tales tend to repeat the some story over and over. You might as well read the main ones and skip the rest.

Not too convinced about this translation either.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baba Yaga! Everyone is named Ivan!

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of fairy tales retold by Gillian Avery, with beautiful illustrations from the early 1900s by Ivan Bilibin. I highly recommend this for all ages.

[Vanessa Dargain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happily ever after . The Russian way . Chuckle chuckle

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely little book.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated. As one reader noted, definitely repetitive. Would be interesting to read various translations and from different time periods.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good collection of Russian fairy tales I read to my little kids (8 & 7 years old) as part of a homeschool unit on medieval Russia.

[Nick121235 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well idk what I expected from fairy tales. Pretty illustration though

[Sarah Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really loved these stories and the illustrations. The translation could have been a little better.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful illustrations!

[cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

colourful, whimsical, arcane

[Ridgely · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's all about the Bilibin. He's the illustrator. It helps that the translator has a nuanced grasp of Russian language and culture; I dig her spin on many of these stories which are already familiar. But the stories are fairy-tales and fairy-tales can stand up without much help. So it comes back to the illustrations. They pretty much make this little book indispensable. So yeah, maybe only a Russian fairytale features a skull on a stick as a crucial plot point. But it takes Ivan Bilibin to depict a pretty blond girl carrying a glowing-eyed skullsicle in a way that makes this image canonical.