The Night It Rained Pancakes: Adapted From A Russian Folktale

by Mirra Ginsburg, Douglas Florian

Because he wants to keep the pot of gold he found, Ivan must outwit the lord of the manor who wants the gold for himself.

Genres: Picture Books

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Mirra Ginsburg was a Jewish Russian-American translator of Russian literature, a collector of folk tales and a children's writer. Born in Bobruisk (then part of the Russian Empire, now part of modern-day Belarus) in 1909, she moved with her family to Latvia, then to Canada, before they settled in the United States. Although she won praise for her translations of adult literature, including the Master and Margarita (1967) by Mikhail Bulgakov and We (1972) by Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin, she is perhaps most celebrated for her contributions to children's literature. She collected and translated a vast array of folktales from the Russian tradition, as well as Siberian and Central Asian traditions. Ginsburg died in 2000.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

In easy reader format we have a folktale featuring a recurring character in Russian folklore, Ivan. Ivan lives with his brother Stepan who always tells the exact truth. Ivan by a deceptive changing of reality manages to save the pot of gold. It is humorous how this is accomplished through his brother Stepan.
Would have liked some background on the Russian folktale this was taken from.

[Jeani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ivan's clever!

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm writing this review for my son, who at five-years-old is not able to write this himself. Personally, this book seems odd and juvenile, but hey, it's a kids book. I'm not even sure where I got this book, but my kids love it. They have asked me to read it to them at least once every week or two for the last two years! Who am I to argue with success? So when I asked my son how many stars I should give it, he said, "Five stars, I love that book!"