fun things to do with kids in    
  Travel for Kids
   
     
    Russia
Catherine Palace
Russia (Russian Federation) is a huge country, stretching from St. Petersburg in the west to Vladivostok in east, north to the Arctic Circle and south to the Black Sea. Its long history, spanning over a thousand years, starts with the Vikings who founded Kiev, through the conquest by the Mongols, to the creation of the Russian nation, united by Ivan the Terrible, the "Tsar of all the Russia's." For three hundred years the Romanov's ruled Russia, ending with the Russian Revolution and creation of the Communist state. Wherever you travel with your kids in Russia today, there's history on a grand scale.
Tip: Don't miss our top picks for children's books on France, recommended by the staff of Travel for Kids, see below.
    St. Petersburg
kids books russia
     
The Tale of the Firebird - kids books Russia  
The Tale of the Firebird
Gennady Spirin

Retelling of a classic Russian folktale, the Tsar sends his sons to search for the mythical firebird. The youngest son finds the firebird in a golden cage, goes on to capture the horse with the golden mane, rescue Yelena the Beautiful and fight evil Koshchei the Immortal. Gorgeously illustrated. (Picture book)

 

     
Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf
Janet Schulman, Peter Malone

Charming retelling of Peter and the wolf, the musical fairy tale. A wolf leaps out of the deep dark woods, trapping the bird, the duck and the cat, but Peter has a plan to trap the wolf. Fully narrated CD, eye-catching illustrations and fun for all ages. (Picture book and Audio CD)

 

 
Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf - kids books Russia
     
Angel on the Square - kids books Russia  

Each book is the continuing story of a St. Petersburg family – Katya, a wealthy young woman at the onset of the Russian Revolution (Angel on the Square), her children Georgi and Marya in the Siberian wilderness (The Impossible Journey), the family in 1941 during the siege of Leningrad (Burying the Sun), and Katya's great-granddaughter, Tatiana, an aspiring ballerina at the end of the 20th century (The Turning). An excellent series that brings to life a century of change in Russia. (Chapter books)

 

     
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
Arthur Ransome, Uri Shulevitz

A simple peasant boy sets out to find a flying ship so he can marry the Czar's daughter. Not only does he find a ship ready to fly, but he gathers up traveling companions. The mean-spirited Czar sets more impossible tasks for the boy, but his friends cheerfully outwit the Czar. Warm-hearted illustrations, filled with color. (Picture book)

 

 
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship - kids books Russia
     
The Magic Nesting Doll - kids books Russia  
The Magic Nesting Doll
Jacqueline K. Ogburn, Laurel Long

A magic spell has turned the young Tsarevitch to ice, and the kingdom to permanent winter. Katya has a magic nesting doll (matryoshka) with a bear, a wolf, and a firebird inside; she uses her matryoshka and love to break the spell. (Picture book)

 

     
Babushka Baba Yaga
Patricia Polacco

Story of a kinder, gentler Baba Yaga, who becomes an adopted grandmother and saves a little boy from the wolves. Brightly colored illustrations, like Russian folk art. Also fun is Rechenka's Eggs. (Picture book)

 

 
Babushka Baba Yaga - kids books Russia
     
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa  the Brave - kids books Russia  
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
Marianna Mayer, K.Y. Craft

Vasilisa is sent by her crummy stepmother to fetch a light from the fearsome witch, Baba Yaga, who lives in the forest in a house surrounded by clattering bones. Richly illustrated with deep colors and marvelous detail. (Picture book)

 

     
Catherine: The Great Journey (Royal Diaries)
Kristiana Gregory

1743. Fourteen year-old Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, is having her portrait painted. It's the beginning of a great journey that will take her from her home in Germany, to Berlin and St. Petersburg to meet her future husband, Peter III, the next czar of Russia. And she is given a new name, Catherine II, Her Imperial Highness. (Chapter book)

 

 
Catherine: The Great Journey - kids books Russia
     
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess - kids books Russia  
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess (Royal Diaries)
Carolyn Meyer

Fictional diary of Anatasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, as she goes from a princess living in the ornate palaces of Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) and St. Petersburg, to house arrest with her family in Siberia. (Chapter book)

 

     
The Kitchen Boy
Robert Alexander

Vivid novel of the last days of the Romanovs in Siberia, an edge-of-your-seat story of a teenage boy who was there, the night the czar's family was executed. Seamlessly interweaves historical fact and fiction into a fascinating read for teenagers. (Chapter book)

 

 
The Kitchen Boy - kids books Russia
     
The Curse of the Romanovs - kids books Russia  

Alexei, the future tsar, escapes Russia in 1916, time traveling to New York in the 21st century. Learning the monarchy will be overthrown, Alexei and his future cousin Varda return to the past to try to save his royal family. An exciting, original adventure. (Chapter book)

 

     
A Picture for Marc
Eric A. Kimmel, Matthew Trueman

Growing up in a small Russian town, while others thought it dull, Marc Chagall saw wonder and color. He drew his uncle playing a fiddle on the roof, dogs and cats dancing, a boy flying, and he discovered what it means to be an artist. (Easy reader)

 

 
A Picture for Marc - kids books Russia
     
Russia: Eyewitness Books - kids books Russia  
Russia (Eyewitness Books)
Kathleen Berton Murrell

Excellent overview of Russia – multiethnic peoples, rule of the tsars, peasants and life at court, revolution and Soviet Russia, arts and crafts, writers and scientists, national pastimes and festivals. Rich, detailed illustrations. (Picture book)

 

     

Delightful mixed bag of stuff about Russia – tasty caviar is salted fish eggs, chess is always popular (even 1,800 years ago), the Russians launched the first space station in 1971, the oldest skis in the world come from Russia. (Picture book)

 

 
Look What Came From Russia - kids books Russia
(More children's books on other Russia pages)