num_pages: 168
description: The folktales of old Russia have been told over and over for generations. These stories have provided inpiration for poems, plays, and operas. Russian children of today still enjoy listening to the tales of magic and wonder--the stories once told to pass the hours during the cold, dark Russian winters. Supernatural figures--witches, demons, and the like--are important in Russian folklore and appear often in this book. One of the most vivid of these characters is ugly Baba Yaga, the witch who lives in the forest. Children will enjoy reading of the way she is outwitted by beautiful Vasilisa.Several of the tales included in Stories from Old Russia have become world-famous. Alexander Pushkin, the Russian poet, turned the story of the golden cock into a long poem. This same story is the basis of Rimshki-Korsakov's opera, The Golden Cockerel. Rimski-Korsakov also told, in operatic form, the take of Sadko of Novgorod, who sang while he played the gusli.These stories and many more are in this selection of Russian folktales. They have long delighted Russian children, and will charm American boys and girls.
language: English
title: Stories from Old Russia
titlecomplete: Stories from Old Russia
ratings_count: 18
publisher: Garrard Publishing Company