The Apartment: A Century of Russian History

by Alexandra Litvina (Author) Anna Desnitskaya (Illustrator)

The Apartment: A Century of Russian History
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

20th-century Russian history comes to life through six generations of a family in their Moscow apartment.

The Apartment: A Century of Russian History explains the true history of 20th-century Russia through the fictitious story of a Moscow family and their apartment. The Muromtsev family have been living in the same apartment for more than a century, generation after generation. Readers are taken through different rooms and witness how each generation actually lived alongside the larger social and political changes that Russia experienced. A search-and-find element has readers looking for objects from page to page to see which items were passed down through the generations. Beautifully illustrated with minute details, this book helps readers engage with Russia's history in an all new way. The book includes a timeline, glossary, bibliography, and index.

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Hardcover
$25.99

Publishers Weekly

In this striking view into Russian history, Litvina and Desnitskaya present four generations of the fictional Muromtsev family in the same Moscow apartment between 1902 and 2002. Each large-format spread features densely detailed cutaways of the home in naïf cartoon-style art, revealing everyday lives often impacted by political upheaval, famine, and wars. Family members take turns narrating in featured years: "Mama came home crying. She had traded the spoons for a piece of horsemeat, but on the way home, she was attacked... by a pack of stray dogs," a young Marusya Muromtseva reports in 1919. Apartment scenes alternate with spreads providing historical context, including labeled vignettes of objects popular at the time, and a search-and-find game, with red question marks, invites readers to find items in previous illustrations. Originally published in Russia, the volume features poems, song lyrics, news clippings, and signs in Russian. The book's breadth of detail, complicated Russian history, and family sagas may overwhelm some readers, but a glossary, index, and timeline of Russian and Soviet history provide additional support. This illustrated "living museum" allows readers to glimpse ordinary lives through some not-so-ordinary times. Ages 8-12. (Nov.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Striking view into Russian history. . . This illustrated 'living museum' allows readers to glimpse ordinary lives through some not-so-ordinary times."—Publishers Weekly
Alexandra Litvina
Alexandra Litvina studied at Moscow State University and at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow. She has written a number of history books for children. She lives in Russia. Anna Desnitskaya is an author and illustrator who has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is the world's largest award for children's and young adult literature. She lives in Russia. Antonina W. Bouis is one of the leading translators of Russian literature working today and was called the best literary translator by Publishers Weekly. She lives in New York City.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781419734038
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Harry N. Abrams
Publication date
November 05, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV016040 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Europe
JUV008090 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Historical
Library of Congress categories
History
20th century
Family life
Apartment houses
Russia (Federation)

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