Vvedensky, A. [What about you?] A ti? / illustrated by V. Konovalov.

Vvedensky, A.   [What about you?] A ti? / illustrated by V. Konovalov.

Moscow; Leningrad: Detizdat, 1941. 16 pp, illustrated. 8vo [220x180mm]. With a portrait of the author.

Series 'Kniga za Knigoy' [Book after book].

In original illustrated wrappers; rubbed. Small ink stain on title page; owner’s pencil marginalia. Overall in good condition.

Poet's last book.

What about you? is a children’s poem about choosing a profession. Six kids sitting on a bench are dreaming about growing up, imagining who they are going to become, each one following their story with the question What about you? addressed to the next one. Naturally for six boys in 1941, they all dream of being brave soldiers in various army forces: one wants to be a pilot, another a navy officer, etc. Illustrations by Viktor Konovalov, portray the imaginary heroic future of the kids. 

Alexander Vvedensky (1904-1941) was a poet, a children’s writer, and a founder of OBERIU (the Association for Real Art), a short-lived association of Russian futurist artists, sometimes referred to as the last Soviet avant-garde. Vvedensky published his stories and poems in several children’s literary journals; translated several Brothers Grimm tales into Russian. In September of 1941 he was arrested for “counterrevolutionary agitation” and sent to Kazan along with the other prisoners; he passed away on route never reaching the destination, and the place of his burial remains unknown. His works, however, weren’t banned from print and were still being published throughout the war, with the second edition of What about you? coming out just three years later, in 1944.

Viktor Konovalov (1909-1995) was a poster artist and a cartoonist as well as an illustrator. His illustrations for children’s books have a noticeable poster quality to them: a striking, emotional image conveyed through simplistic designs. The images for What about you? portray characters as heroic figures, strong and stoic, ready to take charge and protect their country. Unlike the later editions, the illustrations are fully black and white, with the only exception being the artwork on the wrappers, which introduces elements of red and blue.                    

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