Sergey Grigoryevich Kozlov (1939–2010) — a Soviet and Russian writer, poet, screenwriter, and playwright. The future storyteller grew up in Moscow in the family of civil servant Grigory Kozlov and his wife Natalia. The boy showed an interest in literature from an early age; he began composing his first poems while still in school. Dreaming of entering the Literary Institute, the young man attended classes of the literary association "Magistral," founded by Soviet poet and critic Grigory Levin. After finishing school, Sergey worked a lot: he was a typesetter in a printing house, a stoker on a steam locomotive, and even a singing teacher. In 1961, the writer was admitted to the A. M. Gorky Literary Institute. About a year later, his first work — a short fairy tale "How the Sun Shattered" — was published. This marked the beginning of Kozlov's journey in children's literature. In 1965, the writer completed his studies, preparing a handwritten poetry collection as his graduation work. For the next two years, Sergey Grigoryevich conducted tours at the A. S. Pushkin Museum-Reserve "Mikhaylovskoye," while continuing to compose fairy tales. In them, he wrote about animals, nature, friendship, life, and death. His fairy tales are intended for both children and adults — they not only captivate with their plots but also provide rich food for thought. In 1972, Kozlov became a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR. Three years later, his fairy tale "Hedgehog in the Fog" was adapted for film by the famous director Yuri Norstein. The animated film was warmly received by audiences and won awards at international film festivals. Subsequently, Kozlov's fairy tales and poems were repeatedly adapted for screens, while the author himself tried his hand at writing scripts and plays.
The fairy tales of Sergey Kozlov collected in this anthology tell readers about the ability to trust, fear, love, and loneliness. Hedgehog, Bear Cub, Hare, Squirrel, and many other little animals play together, visit each other, observe the surrounding world, and engage in conversations. In an unobtrusive way, their discussions begin to touch upon eternal themes. The touching little heroes are brought to life by the talented artist Anaït R. Gardyan (1967). Anaït was born in Yerevan and studied at the Armenian Pedagogical Institute. At first, the artist worked as an animator at the Armenfilm studio, but later became interested in book illustration. Anaït collaborates with many publishing houses, designs book covers, and illustrates the works of children's writers. To date, Anaït Gardyan's works adorn no fewer than thirty books.
