About Svetlana

The first edition of the book was published in 1953. The book consists of small chapters-stories, compositionally independent, but united by a common main character - Svetlana, who attends kindergarten. Simple, without excessive moralizing, yet instructive, these prose miniatures are... easy to read and are well-remembered by the children.

For Svetlana, everything in life is for the first time. The first word she read independently, the first help to adults, the first excursion to her mother’s workplace… Here, Svetlana met a dog, gripped her father's hand tightly and for the first time passed by without begging her dad to pick her up ("The Bravest"). Here is the first truth about a committed offense, told by Svetlana consciously. It happened at lunch when it turned out that a plate was broken. Maybe it broke by itself? And at that moment, the girl could not hold back: "Plates don’t break themselves. It... it... I... accidentally broke it" ("At Lunch"). And here Svetlana was able for the first time to stand up to a naughty boy who was pulling her hair ("Take Care of Your Braids").

The artist Georgy Fitinhof is a master of children's book illustration. He depicted the main character and the children from kindergarten with such love and authenticity that the book makes you want to look at it again and again.

The book is recommended for preschool children. But it will also bring nostalgic pleasure to adults: after all, Svetlana was growing up in times when children were still allowed to sit in the car next to the driver, and in the subway they used paper tickets.