Laurinčiukas, Albertas [Speaking Tam-Tam]. Govoriashchii Tam-Tam.

Translation from Lithuanian by Virgiliius Chepaitis.
Illustrations by Antanas Shakalis [Šakalys].

Vilnius, Vaga, 1977.
8vo, 44, [4] pp., ill.

In original pictorial wrappers.
In good condition, lightly rubbed to spine.

First Russian translation of these stories. First edition with these illustrations.

This collection comprises eight stories about children from various corners of the world: 'Matador' (depicting a boy in Mexico who got injured during a bullfight), 'Flag' (narrating the tale of an orphan boy who lost his life during the Vietnam War), 'Bird of Happiness' (centering around a boy working as a porter in New Mexico, who aspired to own his own motel), 'Boy and Tam-Tam' (revealing the life of a mute boy in Dakar who communicated with others using a drum), 'Flood' (unfolding the story of two children in India who were rescued from a flood by an anonymous savior), 'Sharpshooter' (portraying a white prisoner abandoned in the Amazon forest, later rescued by a boy), 'Billy' (following the story of a black shoe-shining boy in the suburbs of New York who lost his arm in a car accident), and 'Friendship' (capturing the account of a boy from Burma who fell into a pit with a tiger and saved the animal).
These stories were penned by Lithuanian journalist and playwright Albertas Laurinčiukas (1928-2012). Between 1959 and 1963, as well as from 1968 to 1970, he served as a correspondent for Soviet newspapers 'Pravda', 'Moskovskiye Novosti', and 'Selskaia Zhizn'' in the USA. From 1975 to 1988, he held the position of the head of the Union of Journalists of Lithuania.
The illustrations were crafted by Lithuanian graphic artist and production designer Antanas Šakalys (1938-2019), who pursued studies at the State Art Institute of Lithuania and the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. Šakalys later contributed to projects for Lithuanian television.
The original edition of these stories, initially titled 'Matador', was published in Vilnius in 1971, featuring a different set of illustrations. Subsequently, in 1982, the collection was republished in Russian under the original title and with the same illustrations in Yerevan (Armenian SSR).

We couldn’t trace any copy of this edition in the USA or European libraries via OCLC.