For many readers, the story of Lavrova, and the author himself, was a real discovery. In 2013, Svetlana Lavrova won the famous Kangaroo children's book competition. The winner was determined by online voting. Many readers really fell in love with the author, and in particular the story "Where the Cockerel Rides".
about the author
Svetlana Lavrova, by profession, is a neurophysiologist, candidate of medical sciences, and by her vocation is an amazingly talented children's writer. Her hand has already written more than 40 books, many of which have been awarded prestigious children's literary prizes. The popular writer lives in Yekaterinburg, thereby refuting the opinion that the farther the author lives from the capital, the less talented he is.
Short retelling
For those parents who still doubt whether it is worth buying the book “Where does the cockerel ride”, a brief retelling will be very helpful. So, the book tells about a girl with a glorious Russian name Dasha, who lives in a small town, but her dreams are, frankly, global. Dasha wholeheartedly dreams of leaving her father’s house and going to the metropolis, where she plans to become an outstanding writer. Dasha has not only bold dreams, but also a concrete plan for their implementation. Wasting no time, she writes novels about vampires and, of course, about love. In an effort to give his book of colors, Dasha includes in the plot characters from the world of folklore of the Komi people.
In a mystical way, one of the characters of her own book suddenly appears in front of Dasha - Pera the hero, who is desperately asking the girl to help him. According to Pera the hero, the land of Komi is emptying, inhabitants, gods and even the most ancient spirits leave it. The once huge and mysterious world of the myth of ancestors becomes poorer, gradually turning into a small plain fairy tale. The brave girl Dasha decides to help the hero and sets off to save the mythological world in the company of characters of folklore and aliens. In his novel “Where the Cockerel Gallops,” Lavrov sends the heroes on a journey. It is full of extraordinary discoveries and adventures, which, no doubt, will appeal not only to children, but also to their parents.
How does “... a cockerel” differ from other books by S. Lavrova?
In general, we can say that the fantastic story has much in common with the previous works of the author, but there are a number of differences. On the one hand, the book is just as easy to read, it provides an opportunity to laugh heartily, for which Lavrova, in fact, is loved by the public. The plot of the story is not inferior in its fascination and variety of characters. On the other hand, a characteristic and new feature in Svetlana’s work was the interweaving into the plot of a work of mythological plots that are not familiar to every child and even teenager. This fact cannot be called a drawback, because the description of folklore and mythology of our country is very useful for young readers.
The work of Lavrov against Hollywood products
Today it is extremely difficult for children to be surprised with anything, because the West daily releases a new portion of its products, which they successfully swallow, forgetting about their own traditions and culture. Modern Russia is literally overwhelmed with books, films and games that have come from Europe and America. A rare child today picks up a real book, preferring various kinds of computer games and gadgets to it. Of course, this is a big problem for all of us. Perhaps such a decline in Russian, especially children's, culture is connected with the fact that there are not so many really high-quality products of Russian authors and they are poorly advertised. And against this background, the book “Where the Cockerel Rides” appeared.
Svetlana Lavrova, with her story, seeks to instill in children an interest in her own culture, to interest young readers with folklore and mythology through a fascinating story and vivid characters. All this, flavored with humor and ease of reading, really carries you into an amazing, fantastic world. Reader reviews indicate that thanks to this amazing book, parents were able, albeit briefly, to distract the child from the TV, to give him the pleasure of reading.
Book design features
Even the very design of the book “Where does the cockerel ride” literally shouts about the great love of the author for his past and folk motives. Everything here: both the font and the book illustrations - is designed not to let the book go out of hand. Styling really succeeded. The beginning of each new chapter is accompanied by a colorful illustration, the small title of the chapter and the image of the bookmark make the book interesting not only for those children who are already reading on their own, but also for kids who will have something to look at while parents read the story aloud.
All readers of the novel “Where the Cockerel Gallops” will undoubtedly be attracted by the outlandish page design and bizarre designs that complete the chapter. At the end of the book, a small dictionary is presented, with all the names encountered in the reading process. According to numerous readers, this helps to penetrate even deeper into the magical world created by the author, to truly feel the book. In general, reading this masterpiece is a pleasure. Both spiritual and aesthetic. Colorful pictures and an interesting plot will appeal to adults and children. The book will undoubtedly leave a strong impression in the soul and heart of everyone who reads it.
Educational fairy tale
That is what one of the readers called the book. The work is not only an adventure, “Where does the cockerel ride” also fosters a love of their own culture and ancient traditions. Through the prism of a fabulous work, Lavrov seeks to convey to the children a simple truth: if they do not show interest in their history and national traditions, the Void will absorb everything, as happened in the book. There is also a hint to parents in the story, as many readers claim. The fact that it is the girl Dasha who goes to the rescue of mythological heroes means that the preservation of our traditions lies precisely on the shoulders of children who will bear in their hearts love for the Motherland and its customs. It is the future generation that can change everything.
A social fairy tale?
Some particularly attentive readers call the "social fairy tale" the story "Where the cockerel rides." Reviews are a confirmation of this. Readers are sure that through the adventures of Dasha, the author draws the attention of adults to the pressing social problems of modern society. Lavrova seeks to remind us that it is extremely important not to forget about our native land, to remember our roots and history. In the pursuit of money, career, and everything else, we often forget about the truly significant life values.
According to many, the fairy tale also demonstrates that our country has completely forgotten that it is necessary to revive villages and villages. By concentrating our whole lives in big cities, we lost the value of the ancient culture that our grandparents lived in the village, where fairy tales were always told, embroidered and baked cakes. Lavrova (“Where does the cockerel ride”) encourages his adult readers to think, because it is not too late to revive the slowly dying traditions of our people. Despite the fact that all these “adult” thoughts are embedded in a children's book, it’s sometimes useful for us to think about the fate of our culture, even through a simple, naive child’s work.
Will there be a sequel?
As it became known recently, Svetlana Lavrova, having visited the festival “Reading together”, which was held in Kortkeros, decided to write a new book, also based on Komi mythology. During his visit, the author made an interesting discovery for himself. It turns out that the village of Kortkeros is named after the iron man Kort-aike from a local legend. According to the writer herself, she did not plan to write more books about Komi after the publication of the story “Where the Cockerel Jumps ...”, but then she realized that she simply could not stop there. Lavrova admitted that she feels at home in the area, and promised that she will soon release a new book. We can only wait patiently and hope that the new work of this author will be no less exciting and instructive.