Rein, Evgeny [About Hot Africa and Sweet Factory]. O Zharkoy Afrike i Sladkoy Fabrike.

Illustrations by I. Ershov.

Leningrad,Khudozhnik RSFSR,1970.
8vo,[24] pp.incl.wr., ill.

In original illustrated wrappers.
Near very good condition, lightly rubbed to edges, lightly browned back cover.

The story follows a little boy named Mik and his animal friends in Africa who embark on a journey to create an ice-cream factory. Together, they travel to Milk Country, Orchard Country, Sugar Country, and Ice County to learn the secrets of ice-cream production.
Evgeny Rein (born 1935), the author, is a renowned poet, writer, translator, and a close friend of Joseph Brodsky. He was also a member of the poetic group known as Akhmatova's Orphans. Rein earned his living by writing popular science articles in children's magazines and books. His poems were published in samizdat, and his first collection of verses only appeared in 1984.
The book is illustrated by artist Igor Ershov (1916-1985), who studied under Vladimir Konashevich at the Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute (formerly the Imperial Academy of Arts). Ershov worked as a book illustrator starting from the 1950s.
This book was part of the children's collection of Inna Shmeleva (1929-2020), an artist who studied under Ely Bielutin, the founder of The New Reality artistic academy. In 1962, Shmeleva participated in the 30th anniversary of the Moscow Union of Artists at the Central Exhibition Hall (Manège), an event that was heavily criticized by Nikita Khrushchev, marking the end of the period known as the Khrushchev Thaw.

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