The St. Petersburg Library and the St. Petersburg section of IBBY are housed in this nineteenth-century building. It includes a “playing room for children from 3 to 8 years old,” and the rare book division houses approxi mately three thousand rare children’s books and the Pushkiniana collection. There is also a description of the Children’s American Corner.

Originally published by Andersen Press Great Britain, in 2008.

Babba Zarrah lives in a tiny village in the snow-covered mountains. The children love to visit her. They settle down on her big, old story blanket and listen to her imaginative tales. One day Babba Zarrah notices that Nikolai needs new socks, but she has no yarn. Every question has an answer, Babba Zarrah tells herself, I just have to find it. After the children leave, she unravels part of her story blanket and knits him some nice warm socks. Not long after that, the postman is surprised to find a scarf wrapped around his mailbag. The grocer mysteriously receives a shawl to keep her warm. On the woodpile outside the school is a pair of mittens for the schoolmaster. Meanwhile, the story blanket is getting smaller and smaller. When the villagers discover Babba Zarrah s secret, they decide to give her a surprise of her own. -- Publisher details.