#380 of 1001 · August 15, 2021

Another Fairy Tale Collection now commences—it’s time for Firebird Week! This sequence will be a little different from the ones that came before, as it is centered not on an specific plot but on a mythical beast. Firebirds appear not just in one tale type but in a number of different stories from Russia (replaced by analogous supernatural birds in variant tales from other cultures). I will therefore cover picture books adapted from several different Firebird stories throughout the week. First, here is The Tale of the Firebird by Gennady Spirin. Tsarevich Ivan must journey throughout the land in search of the mysterious Firebird, helped along the way by a good-natured Baba Yaga (the wild witch of the forest in Russian folklore) and hindered by the villainous Koshchei the Deathless. Spirin’s resplendent illustrations capture the glory and adventure of the heightened fairy-tale setting. A note for folklore enthusiasts: this book is adapted from “Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf”, a tale collected by Aleksandr Afanas’ev in Narodnye Russkie Skazki. Spirin takes the liberty of adding Baba Yaga and Koshchei, who do not appear in the original text—though they are included in many other well-known Russian tales. #firebird #prince #wolf #russia #russian #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks