ABC. Tales from the ABC

In 1872, the first edition of the "ABC" by L. N. Tolstoy was published, which the great classic created with special care and the dream that Russian children "would learn from this ABC... and get their first poetic impressions from it." The illustrations by A. F. Pakhomov, which make up this edition, were born a century later; the artist selected the tales and pages from the "ABC" himself: "I wanted to put into the drawings of this book everything beautiful that remained in my soul and in my memory about the wonderful period of my barefoot peasant childhood, which coincided with the last years of L. N. Tolstoy's life." The appearance and clothing of people, household items, the decoration of a peasant house – all of this was familiar to A. F. Pakhomov not by hearsay, and today his charming images of peasant children continue to introduce both young and old readers to the past of the Russian people. "Everything must be beautiful, short, simple, and, most importantly, clear," – this principle Lev Tolstoy laid at the foundation of his "ABC." The tales that make up this collection range from the simplest miniatures to such independent works as "The Little Bone," "The Lion and the Dog," "Philipok," and others that have become children's classics for all time.