Even if a bit inappropriate, given politics, here is a cool Russian pop-up book. Not really space flight oriented but still interesting. Our Defenders was a book illustrating the Russian military including battlefield rockets. The images are stereotypical of Soviet times and an interesting choice for a children's book.
Mihalkov. Sergei. Illustrated by Beslik, A. НАШИ ЗАЩИТТНИКИ (Our Defenders.) Moscow: Baby Publishing (Mayysh) House. (16 p.) 1976.
Here is wishing you Happy Journeys (1961) in 2024.
Happy Journeys was a 1961 children's book about the future and ways someone might travel. The illustration were double page full color paintings of a exciting and strange future that might be around the corner. I see in this book the optimism we need to accept that the future will be better but we sometime can't imagine what it will really look like. I wish all my readers a great 2024 and many happy surprises.
Some of these "visions" look familiar, like they happened, but not as we thought, others are still to come.
Pekelis, V. Веселое Путешествие (Happy Journeys.) Moscow: Detgiz. (52 p.) 1961.
Another children's magazine from Russia. I enjoy the space pictures and the simple art. This issue has a nice space story comic.
Весёлые Картинки (Funny Pictures.) ( Komsomol “Veselye Kartinki”.) nr. 4, April 1976.
An unusual children's book consisting of a long poem about Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and an imaginary trip to the Moon. It is highly illustrated and worth a look if you have not seen it. It was colored in places in crayon by a child but that sort of adds to the charm of someone who loving this book.
Tschukhrov, Vladimir. Путешествие на Луну: научно-фантастическое стихотворение для детей. (A Journey to the Moon: A science fiction poem for children.) Kaluga, Bulgaria: Publishing house of the newspaper Emamya. (76 p.) 1954.
