Our Notes & References

Story of a Tungusic child in the taiga by a noted geologist and polar explorer. First edition with these illustrations, very rare with OCLC locating just one holding (Stanford).

This story about the Evenki, a Tungusic people of Eastern Siberia, follows a boy named Vania—an ordinary Russian name rather than an indigenous one—who is affectionately called boie (from the Evenki word for “comrade” or “friend”) because he uses it to address everyone. Eager to join his parents on a geological expedition, Vania is finally allowed to come along. On the second morning of the expedition, he wakes early and wanders off into the taiga. There he meets a bear cub and plays with it until the mother bear appears. His dog saves him just in time, and Vania runs back to camp. Everyone agrees the brave boy is well on his way to becoming a true hunter.

The story was written by the geologist and polar explorer Evgenii Freiberg (1889–1981), who worked at the All-Union Arctic Institute and later at the Research Institute of Arctic Geology. After retiring, he devoted himself to writing memoirs and stories.

The lively illustrations are by Nikolai Kochergin (1897–1974), a graphic and poster artist who studied at the Stroganov School of Industrial and Applied Arts. He later collaborated for many years with the Detgiz publishing house, becoming especially known for his illustrations of Russian and indigenous folktales.