Affectionate and gentle animals

"Beastly Tales" is a spin-off of the famous "Beastly Detective" by Anna Starobinets, that is, a work about the same heroes, but chronologically and event-wise not connected with "Detective".

These are very cool fairy tales, unlike anything else in children's literature. Animals tell them to their young ones before bed, and this is not at all what we humans tell our young ones: the plots do not intersect with our world, there are no common fairy tale cliches, the morality is different. However, there are some parallels with the myths of different peoples.

This world was created by the Mango God and the God of Darkness, they placed juicy, sweet fruits and sharp, inedible bones in them. They gave birth to animals that first lived in peace, and then they divided them into predators and prey. The order of the universe is maintained here by a family of celestial bears. Father, mother and the bear cub watch the animals below, make sure that they have enough light, dispel the darkness of the night with stars, drop seeds on the ground from which edible plants sprout, and when the heavenly bear cub cries, it rains in the earthly forest. The Moon in this universe itself sings lullabies to the animals, and the voracious moons eat it, but thanks to the brave Badger, who climbed to the moons along the lunar path and taught them to maintain a fragile balance, the Moon grows again and again. Life after death is also provided here, and each animal will be rewarded according to its deeds: the deceased will first walk along the horizon for several days, and then either the celestial bears will take him to themselves, or the underground sharks will drag him into the forest of shadows.

As you can see, these fairy tales are not about magic and miracles - they are even a little gloomy (but not gloomy), and sometimes you feel a little uncomfortable, so this book is certainly not for preschoolers - it is for children aged 7- 8, not earlier. But schoolchildren (and adults even more) will appreciate the unusual plot, unexpected plot moves, sharp humor and good writing.