Тараканище

by Korney Chukovsky, Корней Чуковский, Владимир Конашевич (Illustrator)

для младшего возраста

Genres: Russia, Poetry, Childrens

16 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Russian: Корней Иванович Чуковский) was one of the most popular children's poets in the Russian language. His catchy rhythms, inventive rhymes and absurd characters have invited comparisons with the American children's author Dr. Seuss. Chukovsky's poems Tarakanishche ("The Monster Cockroach"), Krokodil ("The Crocodile"), Telefon ("The Telephone") and Moydodyr ("Wash-'em-Clean") have been favorites with many generations of Russophone children. Lines from his poems, in particular Telefon, have become universal catch-phrases in the Russian media and everyday conversation. He adapted the Doctor Dolittle stories into a book-length Russian poem as Doktor Aybolit ("Dr. Ow-It-Hurts"), and translated a substantial portion of the Mother Goose canon into Russian as Angliyskiye Narodnyye Pesenki ("English Folk Rhymes"). He was also an influential literary critic and essayist. (from: wikipedia)

For Russian version of same author:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Cock-the-Roach, with his stiff and straight whiskers , threatens to eat the other animals, they give way before him, terrified of this 'Titan.' Hippos wail, crocodiles quake, and Mum Jumbo the elephant sits down and sulks, but no one opposes the victorious insect. Even when he demands their young to devour, the animals are quiescent, until the appearance of a sprightly kangaroo, who demands to know how they can bow down before "such a tiny mite." But it is only when a wee sparrow eats Cock-the-Roach that the animals realize their mistake, and are freed from their tormentor, and from their fears.

This nonsense poem from Kornei Chukovsky, a beloved Russian children's poet whose skillful wordplay has been compared to that of Dr. Seuss, was translated into English in 1981, and published by the Moscow-based Progress Publishers. One of a number of such titles published during the Soviet period, presumably for English-language tourists, as well as English-language markets - I understand that titles from Progress Publishers and Raduga Books were widely available in South Asia for many years - Cock-the-Roach is a book I found more interesting than pleasing. As someone interested in children's literature in translation, I am always on the look-out for these old Soviet-era publications, but although I thought Chukovsky's poem was fascinating, as a story, the text itself left me cold. I expect this is owing to the difficulties of translating poetry. The tale itself, in which the animals are all fooled into submission to a being far less powerful than they, could be interpreted in a number of ways. I was reminded a bit of Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes , in which the people are likewise cowed into ignoring reality, but I think there is also a message here about political oppression, and how people sometimes contibute to it by being too willing to accept authority, believing falsely that it is invincible. In this sense, I was reminded of the conclusion of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , in which the all-powerful Oz is revealed as a humbug. However that may be, this was an interesting poem, one I was glad to read. The artwork by Olga Pushkaryova had a charming vintage feeling to it, and was sometimes quiet lovely. The scene with the sparrow on the flowering branch looked almost like a Japanese print to me. Recommended to anyone interested in Russian children's literature.

[Hirdesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

mind blowing poetry for kids...

[Anastasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Помню, у меня была красочная книжка о Тараканище, я её обожала, и как сейчас помню образы медведей на велосипеде и комариков на воздушном шарике. Могла перечитывать эту сказку в стихах по нескольку раз.

Не смотря на довольно эксцентричную форму изложения Корнею зачастую удаётся донести важные мысли до читателя, как и здесь, в Тараканище: у страха глаза велики, ага :)

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this story; its wacky rhymes. I forgot just how sad it was in the middle. The first time I read this again, it made me cry. I had to pause. Even though I knew it was going to be okay in the end. Maybe it affected me so much because I have a child of my own now; it just hit so close.

[Jahangir · Rating 4 out of 5]

হায়াৎ মামুদের কাব্যানুবাদ পড়লে মনে হবে না এটি অনুবাদ। আর কবিতার প্রতিটি পংক্তির সাথে ও. পুশ্‌কারিওভা'র অসাধারণ সব খুঁটিয়ে খুঁটিয়ে মেলানো আরেক মজার খেলা।