These four books, published in the Soviet Union between 1925 and 1927, were a collaboration between poet Samuil Marshak (1887-1964) and painter Vladimir Lebedev (1891 - 1967). Based on the idea that a children’s book is an important cultural object in its own right, they linked painting, poetry and typography and created the timeless precursor to the modern children’s picture book.

In four brand new translations, The Circus and Other Stories includes four of Marshak’s tales: ‘The Circus’, ‘Ice Cream’, ‘Yesterday and Today’ and ‘How the Plane Made a Plane’, all illustrated by Lebedev.