Taraka, the mustachioed

Tarakã, the Mustache was written by Chukovsky in 1921.  For children and adults, the poem tells the story of a baratão ( takanische ) who scares all the animals in the forest. The author's critique of society at the time did not take away the fun and musicality of these stanzas so well known and loved by Russians, as the journalist and translator Irineu Franco Perpetuo explains in the preface to the edition: 
 
 "Although Stalin only ascended to the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR in 1922 – therefore, after the writing of Tarakã, the mustachioed –, there was no lack of people who saw him portrayed in the text's protagonist, whose tyrannical strength seems to come from fear and the refusal to confront those he subjugates. It is not impossible that Ossip Mandelstam (1891-1938), Chukovsky's friend, had the allegory in mind when elaborating, in 1933, the poem We live without feeling the ground in our feet , in which the dictator is satirized with a comparison between his mustaches and cockroaches. Anyway, in addition to the political subtext that will interest adults, Chukovsky's text retains the charm for children by the color of the images, rhythm, musicality and grace of the rhymes, what the translation sought to recreate in Portuguese with care and flavor, enriching the Russian text with typically Brazilian references."
 
 Finalist for the 2016 Miolo(s) Award in the Children's Book category with Fabio Flaks and Fabiola Notari
 
 Author . Kornei Chukovsky
 Translation . Aurora Fornoni Bernardini and Maria Vragova
 Preface. Irenaeus Franco Perpetual
 Illustration. Fabio Flaks
 Publishing company . Kalinka and Ars et Vita
 Year . 2016
 Portuguese
 Pages. 22 pages
 Size . 9.5cm x 14.5cm