The Hedgehog in the Fog

You can get acquainted with the entire book in electronic form by following the link on the SZKEO website. The gift illustrated edition is printed on domestically produced matte coated paper, Omela, with a bookmark of the same color as the headband.

The book includes more than sixty fairy tale works by the writer, poet, and screenwriter Sergey Grigorievich Kozlov (1939–2010), the author of the widely known and beloved tale “The Hedgehog in the Fog.” Sergey G. Kozlov's fairy tale prose is unique; his tales have been translated into many languages of the world. The edition is adorned with illustrations by the talented contemporary artist and children’s book illustrator Anaid Gardyan.

The famous director Yuri Borisovich Norstein would not have made his acclaimed animated film “The Hedgehog in the Fog” if he had not relied on the text of Sergey Grigorievich Kozlov (1939-2010) - the author of the widely known and everyone’s beloved fairy tale of the same name. Sergey Grigorievich's fairy tale prose is unique; his works have been translated into the languages of different peoples around the world, although many of our compatriots are familiar with his characters primarily through animated films. Who hasn’t seen the story about the Turtle who sang the little Lion a song “I’m lying in the sun...”? After all, these are also the characters from Kozlov's fairy tales. Animators have long noticed his work: his characters and seemingly simple plots beg to be brought to the screen. The future writer was born in the summer of 1939 in Moscow and began writing poetry while still in school. Then he studied at the Literary Institute, and he began composing fairy tales when he reached thirty years of age. Before that, the aspiring writer managed to work as a turner, singing teacher, stoker, and tour guide. Sergey Grigorievich had a talent for talking to children, explaining to them the most diverse things in simple words. For example, in 1976, his book about the river was published by the publishing house “Children's Literature”: it was a story about its flow, banks, steamboats, buoys, bridges, and locks. Yet, Kozlov's main talent lay in his ability to talk in his fairy tales with children and adults about the most important things in life - about friendship, happiness, love, and loyalty.

The charming fairy tales of Kozlov in this book harmoniously complement the illustrations of the talented contemporary artist Anaid Gardyan. She was born in December 1967 in Yerevan and graduated from the Armenian Pedagogical Institute in 1992. However, her passion for the fairy tale world, which captivated Anaid since childhood, led her to a team of animators at the “Armenfilm” studio. Gaining experience from friends who created animated films, Anaid decided to try her hand at book illustrations. And she succeeded! All the fairy tale characters in her drawings come out so lively, emotional, direct, and joyful that one unconditionally wants to believe in the reality of their existence. Gardyan has become a recognized master of book illustration. Since 2000, she has lived in Moscow, collaborating with several publishing houses. Flipping through the book, the reader will immediately see that the colorful and kind illustrations of Anaid Gardyan form a unified whole with the texts of Sergey Kozlov.