Двенадцать месяцев

By Samuil Marshak

Reality gives way to enchantment in the mountains of Bohemia one blustery January night when a little girl is ordered to find snowdrops by her cruel stepmother. The child knows that these delicate spring flowers do not grow in the middle of the winter, but what else can she do but obey? In the frozen woods she comes upon twelve magical brothers who make the impossible happen.This charming story about a little girl who sees all the twelve months of the year at once is a retelling of a traditional Czechoslovakian folktale by Samuel Marshak, one of Russia's greatest folklorists. The lyricism of Marshak's language is retained in this sensitive rendering by the distinguished translator Thomas P. Whitney.Diane Stanley's dazzling watercolor illustrations enhance the telling. The opulence of her patterned textures, the intricacy of her decorative details capture the flavor of long-ago Bohemia while at the same time transforming the landscape into a world of fantasy in which flowers can indeed bloom in wintertime. This exquisite picture book will enchant readers for many years to come. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688015107
• ISBN13: 9780688015107
• Release Date: April 1983
• Publisher: Harpercoll
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Age Range: 3 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Delightful retelling of an old folktale

The Month Brothers, A Slavic Tale by Samuel MarshakEveryone knows that the twelve months of the year never meet but in this charming folk tale a little girl saw all twelve months at one time. Deep in the forest around a blazing fire the Months meet together as brothers in the depths of the Winter. On a freezing January night, a wicked woman ordered her stepdaughter to go into the forest to find flowers. The poor child, bundled...

Wonderful retelling of a Russian Cinderella story.

This is a delightful tale for children in early grade school. Younger children will enjoy the realistic and warm illustrations by Diane Stanley. This story tells the tale of a young girl who is forced to go out in a January storm by her stepmother to look for flowers for her stepsister. While stumbling around in the snow, she meets all twelve Month Brothers, representing all the months of the year. My 8 year old...