Nikolay Nikolayevich Nosov (russian: link=no, Николай Николаевич Носов, uk, Микола Миколайович Носов; in Kyiv – 26 July 1976 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Ukrainian

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

writer, the author of a number of humorous short stories, a school novel, and the popular trilogy of

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

novels about the adventures of

Dunno Plot summaries The three fairy tale novels follow the adventures of the little fictional childlike people living in "Flower Town". They are described to be sized like "medium cucumbers", a quality that has earned them the name "shorties" or "mites ...

and his friends.

Early life

He was born in a family of an

estrada Estrada is a Spanish surname and Portuguese term. Notable people with the surname include: * Armando Estrada, actually Hazem Ali, professional wrestler * Arturo Estrada Hernández, Mexican painter *Carla Estrada, Mexican producer *Chuck Estrada, Am ...

artist. From 1927 to 1929 he was a student of Kyiv Institute of Art, from where he moved to

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

, from which he graduated in 1932.

Career

The literary debut of Nosov was in 1938. In 1932 – 1951 he worked as a producer of animated and

educational film An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods. History Determining which videos should count as the first educational films ...

s, including ones for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, having earned the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

in 1943. In 1938 Nosov began to publish his stories, including ''Zatejniki'' (russian: link=no, Затейники, roughly translates as ''Jokers''); ''Alive Hat'', ''Cucumbers'', ''Miraculous Trousers'', and ''Dreamers''. These stories were published mainly in the magazine for children ''

Murzilka ''Murzilka'' (russian: Мурзилка) is a popular Soviet/Russian illustrated magazine for 6–12 year olds. It has been published since May 1924. History and profile At the end of the 19th century the Canadian illustrator and writer Palmer ...

'' and many of them make up the foundation of the Nosov's first collection ''Rat-tat-tat'', 1945). Nosov introduced a new hero, naïve and sensible, naughty and curious

fidget Fidget may refer to: * ST ''Fidget'', a British Admiralty tugboat * Fidgeting, the inability to sit still for a period of time * A fidget toy, a type of stress-relieving toy such as a fidget spinner * Fidget house, a genre of Electro house * F ...

obsessed by craving for activities and always getting into unusual, often comic situations – into children's literature. The most popular works became his stories for teenagers ''Merry Family'' (1949), ''The Kolya Sinitsyn's Diary'' (1950), ''Vitya Maleev at School and at Home'' (1951). This last one received

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

in 1952. Long-term fame and love of readers were gained by his fairy stories about ''

'' (''Neznaika''). The first of those is the fairy tale ''Vintik, Shpuntik and vacuum cleaner''. Further the hero appeared in the famous trilogy consisting of fairy tale novels '' The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends'' (1953–1954), ''

Dunno in Sun City Dunno, or Know-Nothing or Ignoramus (russian: Незнайка, ''Neznayka'' that is Don'tknowka (ka - the Russian suffix here for drawing up the whole name in a cheerful form); from the Russian phrase "" ("''ne znayu''", ''don't know'') is a cha ...

'' (1958), and ''

Dunno on the Moon ''Dunno on the Moon'' ({{Lang-ru, Незнайка на Луне) is a fairytale novel by Nikolay Nosov from the series about the adventures of Dunno with elements of science fiction. This is the final part of a trilogy of Nosov's novels, consist ...

'' (1964–1965). The writer is also the author of an autobiographical work ''Story about My Friend Igor'' (1971–1972) and a memoirs narrative ''Mystery on a Well Bottom'' (1977).

Death

Nosov died on 26 July 1976 in Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union at age of 67, He was buried at

Kuntsevo Cemetery The Kuntsevo Cemetery (russian: Ку́нцевское кла́дбище, kúntsevkoye kládbishche) is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation o ...

Works

Tribute

On 23 November 2018, a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

was displayed to celebrate his 110th birthday.

References

External links

Neznaika
* ttp://layla.miltsov.org/reviews/nosov Reviews of Neznaika trilogy booksby Layla AR
Jolly FamilySchool BoysKolya Sinitsin's DiaryMishka's Porridge and Other Stories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nosov, Nikolai 1908 births 1976 deaths 20th-century male writers 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian writers 20th-century short story writers Writers from Kyiv Russian children's writers Russian male writers Russian short story writers Soviet children's writers Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers Soviet short story writers Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery