Alya, Anton and Peryput. Alya, Mr. Blot and the Letter Z. Visiting the Wise Man

This edition contains three stories by Irina Petrovna Tokmakova (1929–2018): “Alya, Anton and Peryput”, “Alya, Mr. Blot and the Letter Z” and “Visiting the Wise Man”. In them, schoolgirl Alya will once again face the mischief of the evil Klyaksich, while girl Natasha will enter the magical land of Linguia. Together with them, the young reader will get acquainted with the Russian and English alphabets, as well as the rules of the Russian language. Wonderful colorful illustrations in the book are made by the People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Leonid Alekseevich Tokmakov (1928–2010).

Irina Petrovna Tokmakova (1929–2018) was a Soviet and Russian writer, poetess, and translator. Irina was born in Moscow. Her father was an engineer, and her mother was a pediatrician. The girl grew up in a warm family circle and studied diligently. When the Great Patriotic War began, Irina was still in school. Together with her sister, she was sent to a relative in Penza; soon the “House of Foundlings”, which was run by the girls’ mother, was evacuated there as well. In Penza, Irina finished the fifth and sixth grades, and in her spare time helped her mother care for orphans. In 1943, the family returned to Moscow. Irina became fascinated with poetry and tried to write her own poems, but she did not like the result. After finishing school with a gold medal, Irina entered the philological faculty of Moscow State University. There she studied foreign languages - English, German, Swedish. In 1953, the girl married Lev Tokmakov and graduated from Moscow State University with honors the same year. From the late 1950s, Tokmakova's translations began to appear in Soviet magazines and book collections. Irina translated folk songs and children’s tales; it was in her translations that readers became acquainted with the works of S. Lagerlöf, T. Jansson, and J. Barrie; sometimes these translations were accompanied by illustrations by her husband. In the 1960s, Tokmakova began to write poems again; as a result, a number of her poetry collections for preschool and younger school-age children were published. They were followed by the prose works of the writer, including the story “Alya, Klyaksich and the Letter A”. This edition presents the continuation of the adventures of the mischievous girl Alya - the stories “Alya, Anton and Peryput”, “Alya, Mr. Blot and the Letter Z” and “Visiting the Wise Man”. Together with Alya, young readers will get acquainted with the rules of the Russian language and the English alphabet.

Leonid Alekseevich Tokmakov (1928–2010) was a Soviet and Russian artist. The future illustrator was born in Sverdlovsk. Even as a child, he loved to read and look at picture books. In 1945, the young man entered the Moscow Central Art and Industry College. The artist's acquaintances noted his talent and demand for his works even during the learning process. In total, Leonid Alekseevich illustrated more than two hundred children’s books, collaborated with popular children’s publishers, and taught at a children’s illustration studio. The bright, lively drawings of Tokmakov adorned the works of authors such as S. Marshak, V. Dragunsky, A. Barto, J. Rodari, and A. Lindgren. Today, his works are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery and the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A. S. Pushkin.