Russian Tales: Traditional Stories of Quests and Enchan… (2024)

I said it already for the Celtic Tales but i need all the books in that collection, I just need to collect all the tales! The illustrations are just amazing!

This collection reminded me quite a lot of the Brothers Grimm fairytales. Some were very nonsensical, some were quite dark, and others had a touch of humour. I definitely think I'm more of a "fairytale retelling" kind of girl but this was still enjoyable.

The more I read these books the more I realize that most folktales are not unique. There are certain archetypes that permeate human society and while I wasn't familiar with these specific stories, I was familiar with the overall gist of most of these. I enjoyed them, especially the ones involving demons (TIL that blacksmiths were thought to have magical powers and in league with demons because people didn't know how smelting worked). Most of these stories I could think of a Grimm's fairytale that was similar, but surprisingly The Snow Child reminded me of Frosty the Snowman! The only negative is that the language is a bit outdated since the stories are all in the public domain and were translated quite a while ago. There is also a very archaic use of the word 'slu*t' (meaning uncleanliness). That made me do a double take.

What a delightful little collection of folktales with stunning illustrations🤍. Probably the most gorgeous book that I own!

This book features well-known mythological beings such as Baba Yaga, Koschei, the Firebird, Marya Morevba, the Snow Child etc. but also some lesser known figures (like e. i Wednesday).

The prose is very charming and easy, making it a pleasure to read for people of all ages.

It was a pleasure reading this! Ofc I recommend🫶🏼

*Cuento: El soldado y la muerte

Leído para el club: @clasicoesleerte

Una historia de la que muchos sabíamos gracias a la serie El narrador de cuentos. El relato nos habla de un soldado quien, a su retorno de la guerra, se encuentra con diferentes personas que le darán obsequios luego de qué él de muestras de su generosidad. El obsequió más valioso será un saco en el que puede encerrar a lo que sea que su propietario le ordene entrar en él, capturando así a la mismísima muerte.

Este relato siempre se me quedó en la memoria ya que se habla mucho de derrotar a la muerte como un objetivo, pero este relato nos hace ver las consecuencias de aquello para el mundo, una situación explorada también en libros como Las intermitencias de la muerte de Saramago o Scythe de Shusterman, aquí podemos ver cómo este deseo nos podría traer más sufrimiento que felicidad.

Sin embargo, también me gustó ver cómo la generosidad del soldado se ve recompensada y su necesidad de ser igualitario con todos aun a costa de su provecho propio.

Un cuento que definitivamente recomiendo.

Underbar. Älskar sagologiken. Kvinnor och män som förvandlas till djur för att det passar sig, hjältar som lyckas för att någon förutspått exakt hur de ska bete sig då de möter Baba Yaga etc. Fantastiska illustrationer.

I enjoyed this collection of Russian folktales, and the illustrations are beautiful.

It was a pretty enjoyable, nonsensical escape from reality. Definitely one of the most bizarre books I've read in a long time. Think Brothers Grimm if they had drunk too much vodka. Solid 3.5 stars.

Writing: bad. Illustrations: good.

Why is every man in Russian folklore named Ivan lol

Some of these were great, while others got lost in translation. This was still a fun read, though. Also, lots of stories about men named Ivan.

This was an eye-opening collection for me as a folklorist and storyteller as I was only familiar with two of the stories. I particularly appreciated, for a first introduction to most of these tales, that this collection was not a re-telling or new interpretation of the old tales but drawn from out of copyright sources that were collected, translated, and published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – and those sources are identified for each story. Of course, there was interpretation and editing that happened in the original publication and translation but they are closer to the original oral tales. As a companion to my reading of Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy, discovering the characters, folklore, and worldview that she was drawing on for her fantasy set in medieval Russia in these tales deepened my understanding and appreciation.

Book Pairings:
Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy, starting with The Bear and the Nightingale

"Once upon a time..."

Russian Tales are another delightful entry by Chronicles Books, highlighting fairytales from all over the world. I love these books! They are so beautifully illustrated, I love how they suit the culture and stories so much. I always wish there were even more illustrations because I love looking at them so much. And of course, it is so much fun to learn about mythology and fairytales from other countries in the world; it really gives a fascinating glimpse into their values and beliefs. However, I will say that Russian Tales was at times very hard to read: The sentence structures were so weird, so I really had to concentrate when reading it. But still a very enjoyable read, and I am excited to grow my collection of these tales!

This book includes 16 traditional Russian fairy tales, organized into three sections: The Impossible, A Helping Hand, and Wishes. The stories (as written and translated into English) were taken from four works that are in the public domain. The language can be a bit old-fashioned, with the original publication dates of 1874, 1887, 1890, and 1915. What's new to this volume are the beautiful illustrations by Dinara Mirtalipova. Definite recommendation for all ages, except for perhaps very young children.

I got this book mostly because I love Mirtalipova's exquisite slavic folk art, but I was a bit disappointed to find that the art was confined to the first page of each new story (with the exception of the occasional piece at the end of some stories, as well). I would've preferred to see the addition of little drawings in the sidelines with motifs relevant to each story.

That being said, the art was beautiful as always, I only wish there was more of it.

Find this collection so-so. Though I liked the illustrations though its Only one illustration per story :( I was not that impressed with the collated stories. I just realized that some of stories that ive heard during childhood were actually Russian stories.

If youre planning to collect this book as part of your collection, I do not recommend it.

Gorgeous illustrations and decent if occasionally awkwardly worded translations.

3.5

I am a very big fan of Russian Folklore and this is a great beginner for anyone curious of some traditional stories.

I am sure this is for a story graph challenge and maybe more. Got this through Inter Library Loan and it was worth waiting for.

The illustrations are incredible.

Gorgeous illustrations and classic tales. The tale of Moroz (Frost) is my new fave, but Ivan and the Grey Wolf will always be my childhood fave.

The tales themselves were fun and strange but my biggest draw to this edition was the amazing artwork!

I love Retellings, so this year I want to read a lot of the source material, so that I can understand better what elements the retellings take.

Loved the illustrations and enjoyed the stories, some familiar and some not!

Užasno mi je žao što ovo ne mogu pročitati u originalu, čak i na hrvatskom mislim da bi uz dobrog prevoditelja bilo bolje.. Puno mi se izgubilo u prijevodu na engleski..

gonna save and read to my kids

While I enjoyed some stories more than others, I'm giving this 4 stars mainly because of the stunning illustrations.

First all I have a massive urge to collect every book in this collection. Folktales are one of the best gateways into human society as a whole. However, I did notice the tales in these books can get a bit repetitive and you can get the gist of how every story will turn out by the midway point. That was just how the writing was back then. A lot of the stories in the Russian Tales collection do have some rough violence in them. Not that you shouldn’t read them because of that I just wish I was aware when I started. Overall 2 stars because it wasn’t too enjoyable to read, but I love learning about different cultures.