I need a fiction book for kids age 9-12 about Russia. Any ideas?

12 Answers

When you say kids…how old? x

CrystalQuestion author

4th grade

Sekret by Lindsay Smith or
Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire may be suitable x

Kids how old? Look for adaptations of Peter & the Wolf for the younger crowd; Ivan the Fool and Baba Yaga for older. Russian folk tales are scary! And the Russian lit I’ve read is heavy. Chekhov & Gogol would be good for teens. They are funny and not too long.

Stacey

I haven’t read her, but Vera Brosgol writes about Russian-American characters I think. Graphic novels.

Anna

Lev Tolstoy written small stories for kids of that age but I’m not sure if they were translated. Pushkin has a number of fairy tales in verse – The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, The Tale of Tsar Saltan and many more.

Connor

Turgenev’s “Sportsman’s sketches” is a possibility but as with most classic Russian literature skews older/more advanced.
There are also a bunch of short Tolstoy works intended as primers for peasants learning to read so they’re moralising tales.
Samuel Marshak is a name to look out for – wrote and translated children’s stories.

Gabbie

Bryce Courtneys the family frying pan might work

Sandra

Maybe for 12 and up, that’s when I read it: https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Picnic-Rediscovered-Classics-Strugatsky/dp/1613743416/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Stacey

I just remembered Storynory, which my daughter and I adored when she was younger. https://www.storynory.com/category/myths/russian-stories/

Amanda

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10693803

Karen

Susan Jeffers’ Nutcracker picture book is a splendid celebration of Russian culture. The illustrations enchant.

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