The Tale of the Red-Haired Girl.

This tale makes any reader, regardless of age, empathize strongly, experiencing the joys and sorrows of the heroine – a girl named Eva with unruly red hair and a lively, surprisingly independent character. It is hard to put the book... down until the last page is turned. The events of the tale, described in a vivid and bright language, come to life: a provincial town on the Kama River with its quiet streets and snowy squares, realistic boys and gymnasium girls, the first ball, first love, friends and foes, mother and stepmother, a house, «in which no one wants to live»… The tale is further adorned by the surprisingly expressive, plastic illustrations of the remarkable artist Georgy Petrovich Fitinhof. With just a few strokes, this master of book illustration manages to convey the character and mood of the hero: the fragile beauty of the girl, the majestic dignity of the grandmother, the stern nature of the father, the timid charm of the lame dog Krivulka.