The more work I see by Mai Miturich, the more I am impressed by his humor and childlike joy,
the sophisticated spontaneity of his brush technique, and his whimsical, creative approach to page layout.
Miturich (1925-2008) was one of the major Soviet children's books illustrators of the 1960s and 70s,
and his numerous books were very popular among Russian children.
The bright watercolors in this post belong to Poems For Children, a large collection of poems written
and compiled by the famous children's book author Samuil Marshak. It was published in 1965,
and won the Silver medal and the International Exhibition of Book Art in Leipzig.
In 1974, the Soviet Progress Publishers issued an English-language edition with the name
The Rainbow Book: Verses For Children.
I am so happy with this discovery! Too bad Miturich is virtually unknown outside of Russia,
and it's hard to find any other foreign editions of his books...
