Inside the Rainbow: Russian Children’s Literature 1920–35: Beautiful Books, Terrible Timesis a stunning compendium of illustrations from the twenties and thirties. As Philip Pullman writes in his introduction,

In the dark and dangerous world of revolutionary Petrograd, a group of Russian poets and artists, among the greatest of the century, came together to create a new kind of book for children about to enter a Brave New World.  These artists and writers dreamed of endless possibilities in a new world where children and grown-ups alike would be free from the bitterness of ignorance. For a time, when children’s publications still escaped the scourge of state censorship, their books became a last haven for learning, poetic irony, burlesque and laughter.