My grandmother told me many stories about all those adventures and what her life was like in the old days. I loved listening to her stories more than anything. They helped me fall asleep at night, and I would dream of my grandmother's Russia. When I grew up and had children of my own (one is now four and the other is seven), I wanted to share these tales with them. They have grown up in America, and they know very little about Russian culture or tradition. But by retelling my grandmother’s stories and fairy tales, I was able to not only keep the magic of old Russia alive but the spirit of my grandmother alive as well.
I began to tell my children a story every night so that they could have the same adventures I had as I listened to my grandmother so long ago. When I became an author, I realized that other children in the world needed to hear my grandmother’s stories, too. Russia is a beautiful place, and the stories of when my grandmother was a little girl are so lovely that I had to ensure that they lived on and could inspire other children to dream of magic and to live lives of adventure.
